NEW: Donald Trump specifically has been invoked in connection with violent acts, threats of violence or assault allegations in at least 36 criminal cases nationwide, per ABC News review. No such cases found in the names of Barack Obama or George W. Bush.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly refused to accept any responsibility for inciting violence in American communities, dismissing critics who have pointed to his rhetoric as a potential source of inspiration for some citizens acting on even long-held beliefs of bigotry and hate.
Seven cases involved violent or threatening acts perpetrated in defiance of Trump, with many of them targeting Trump's allies in Congress. But the vast majority of the cases -- 29 of the 36 -- reflect someone echoing presidential rhetoric, not protesting it. The perpetrators and suspects identified in the 36 cases are mostly white men -- as young as teenagers and as old as 75 -- while the victims largely represent an array of minority groups -- African-Americans, Latinos, Muslims and gay men.
And, last week, Trump similarly insisted that the man who fatally shot nine people in Dayton, Ohio, three days earlier"supported" Sanders and other liberal causes. Nevertheless, last year Trump said he deserves"no blame" for what he called the"hatred" seemingly coursing through parts of the country. And he told reporters that he's"committed to doing everything" in his power to not let political violence"take root in America."Here are the 36 cases identified by ABC News:
June 3, 2016: After 54-year-old Henry Slapnik attacked his African-American neighbors with a knife in Cleveland, he told police"Donald Trump will fix them because they are scared of Donald Trump," according to police reports. Slapnik, who is white, ultimately pleaded guilty to"ethnic intimidation" and other charges. It's unclear what sentence he received.
Oct.
Jan. 3, 2017: In Chicago, four young African-Americans -- sisters Brittany and Tanishia Covington, Jordan Hill and Tesfaye Cooper -- tied up a white, mentally disabled man and assaulted him, forcing him to recite the phrases"F--k Donald Trump" and"F--k white people" while they broadcast the attack online. Each of them ultimately pleaded guilty to committing a hate crime and other charges, and three of them were sentenced to several years in prison.
May 3, 2017: In South Padre Island, Texas, 35-year-old Alexander Jennes Downing of Waterford, Connecticut, was captured on cellphone video taunting and aggressively approaching a Muslim family, repeatedly shouting,"Donald Trump will stop you!" and other Trump-related remarks. Police arrested downing, of Waterford, Connecticut, for public intoxication. It's unclear what came of the charge.
July 6, 2018: Martin Astrof, 75, approached a volunteer at the campaign office of Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., in Suffolk County, New York, and"state[d] he was going to kill supporters of U.S. congressman Lee Zeldin and President Donald Trump," according to charging documents. Astrof was arrested and ultimately pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment. He was sentenced to one year of probation.
Dec. 4, 2018: Michael Brogan, 51, of Brooklyn, New York, left a voicemail at an unidentified U.S. Senator's office in Washington insisting,"I'm going to put a bullet in ya. … You and your constant lambasting of President Trump. Oh, reproductive rights, reproductive rights.
Feb. 15, 2019: Police in Falmouth, Massachusetts, arrested 41-year-old Rosiane Santos after she"verbally assault[ed]" a man for wearing a"Make America Great Again" hat in a Mexican restaurant and then"violently push[ed] his head down," according to police reports. Apparently intoxicated,"she stated that [the victim] was a 'motherf----r' for supporting Trump," one of the responding officers wrote.
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