Topical Context: MAGAReport 1/19/26
How does this corner of MAGA relate to the broader pro-Trump movement?
I’ve had a number of conversations lately that touched on whether the topics and insights I write about here are general characterizations of Trump supporters and the whole MAGA movement.
They are not.
I am reporting on a very extreme corner of MAGA, and I wanted to take a little time to characterize just how extreme they are.
I started writing this newsletter during the 2024 election cycle because people who knew my work were frequently asking me about the potential for political violence. They were thinking about January 6, 2021 and wondering if it could happen again. I study radicalization and extremism and, if there were to have been violence from the right, it would have come from Trump’s most extreme supporters. By its nature, this newsletter is and has always been focused on some of the most violent people in the MAGA movement.
I will write about “MAGA” in my posts, but when I do, I am only referring to these very extreme people. That’s the nature of the exercise I am undertaking with this newsletter. I could see how, if one just drops in, they may not understand that, but I think it is important to be clear that when I write about “MAGA”, I am not characterizing the whole of Trump supporters or the broader MAGA community.
It may be difficult for people who don’t engage with MAGA dialogue to see the spectrum from the average Trump voter to people who waved “MASS DEPORTATION NOW” signs at Trump rallies to the men on these forums I monitor, but the differences are stark. The groups I monitor take the ideas the Trump shares and extrapolate them to the most extreme end.
To illustrate this, I want to highlight some of the violent rhetoric that goes on in these groups. I have written about this over and over, but I think seeing it all together paints a clear picture.
They want people who protest Trump to be killed
During the anti-ICE protests in LA, they called for the military to execute the protesters. “Please bring the napalm and cluster bombs, thanks. Nothing of value will be lost.
Last week after Renee Good was shot in Minneapolis, they celebrated her death and called for the killing of other protesters. “The bitch died the way she lived, as a fat, Somali loving LGBTQ retard. Nothing of value was lost. In fact, the world became a better place.”
They want the police to kill No Kings protesters. “They should just shoot them all dead”
They want immigrants to be killed
They believe Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man “accidentally” deported to El Salvador, should be killed. “We should have killed this guy months ago.”
In response to a man being annoyed by his (possibly immigrant) neighbors’ music, they said immigrants should be killed. “Nobody knows who they are, so nobody will miss them when they get buried in the desert.”
They believe immigrants should be purged. “Even Rorschach wouldn’t object to the casual murder of illegal immigrants in the streets. And if Rorschach doesn’t mind, I don’t mind either. I say let the purge begin. Trump: temporary immunity granted for all illegal immigrant murders. He will say, the date is a week away. Better quickly flee the country before the purge starts. $1000 reward for the body of every illegal.”
They want Trump’s political enemies killed
After members of Congress made a video telling troops not to follow illegal orders, they called for their execution. “EXECUTE THE SEDITIOUS SIX.”
Reflecting on voter fraud in Georgia, they want election officials killed. “Because you didn’t hang them, they’re going to do it again.”
They also think trans people should be killed and they believe women should not have the right to vote. They regularly call for the 19th amendment to be repealed. They fetishize the power of the state being used against their perceived enemies.
Speaking of which, I have just finished my time in Minneapolis covering the response to ICE there. I need a day or two to recover - and thaw - and then I will be sharing some info. In the meantime, you can see some of my photos here: https://www.instagram.com/jagged_photo/