Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., claimed former President Trump was instigating violence in the U.S. and suggested that his supporters were “domestic terrorists” who should be investigated for possibly preparing for a “civil war.”
“I’m worried that he’s so divisive and that he’s talking about retribution, and they’re talking about revenge and I think that that’s dangerous. He’s even mentioned civil war at one point, talked about there would be bloodshed” Waters said on MSNBC Sunday, referring to Trump’s rhetoric.
During the media appearance, the congresswoman vowed that she would ask the “criminal justice system” to find out what is “going on with the domestic terrorists,” seeming to refer to the presumptive Republican nominee’s supporters.
“Are they preparing a civil war against us?” she continued. “Should we be concerned about our safety? What is [Trump] doing with this divisive language? It is dangerous.”
REP. MAXINE WATERS: TRUMP SUPPORTERS ‘TRAINING UP IN THE HILLS’ FOR ELECTION ATTACK
“This is not good for this country,” Waters added, “but he does not care about democracy, he does not care about the Constitution of the United States. He’s in love with Putin and Russia and Kim Jong-un and North Korea.”
“It is not just that [Trump is] a criminal, this is a man who disrespects the Constitution and democracy and we have got to find out what they are doing as domestic terrorists [who] tried to take over the government on Jan. 6,” she continued.
“How far is this going to go?” Waters asked. “Are they going to be attacking? Whom are they going to attack? What are we going to do? We’re trying to get an investigation going about that.”
Waters also referenced a social media post she made attacking Trump after his historic conviction in New York.
“Trump shut your mouth!” Waters wrote on X Thursday. “You talk about saving the Constitution? You’re the one who has disrespected the Constitution and you have supporters who believe we should get rid of the Constitution! Just shut your mouth, you’re convicted on all counts!”
Waters previously claimed in May that right-wing organizations connected to Trump are “training” to attack if Biden wins the election in November.
“I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to ask the Justice Department, and I am going to ask the president to tell us what they are going to do to protect this country against violence if [Biden] loses,” she remarked.
“I want to know about all of those right-wing organizations that [Trump] is connected with who are training up in the hills somewhere and targeting what communities they are going to attack. We need to know now, given that he is telling us there is going to be violence if he loses. We need to know what his plan is and how we are going to be protected,” Waters said.
Waters has also been accused of violent rhetoric, having caused controversy in 2021 after telling protesters to “get more confrontational” if ex-Minneapolis police Derek Chauvin was acquitted in the death of George Floyd. Chauvin was stabbed by an inmate in federal prison and seriously injured in 2023 after he was convicted for Floyd’s death, which set off more violent protests across the country.
Fox News’ Lindsay Kornick, Adam Sabes and Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.
