No one will be above the law.”That’s what then-candidate Donald Trump said at a campaign rally in August of 2016. Trump has reached for apocalyptic rhetoric, calling for his supporters to protest at the Florida courthouse when he is arraigned on Tuesday. The threats of violence reflect an authoritarian impulse completely at odds with the alleged principles of the Republican Party and the conservative movement. Here’s the key difference: Trump was not charged for having the classified documents but for willfully trying to hide the documents after the feds enquired. When facts and reason no longer apply, desperate individuals resort to threats of violence.

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Persons: John Avlon, “, ”, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Trump, Andy Biggs, Kari Lake, Merrick Garland, Jack Smith, Joe Biden —, That’s, MAGA, Edmund Burke’s, Lincoln, Nikki Haley, Chris Christie, Asa Hutchinson –, –, It’s, Mike Pence, Jonathan Turley, Andrew McCarthy, Bill Barr, Barr, don’t Organizations: CNN, John Avlon CNN, Democratic, Trump, Arizona Republican, Capitol, Arizona GOP, Georgia Republican, NRA, Republican Party, Trump’s Republican, South Carolina Gov, GOP, DOJ, Twitter, Facebook, Washington Post Locations: “ Lincoln, Florida, Arizona, Georgia, Mar, France, Italy, Israel, United States