The top post at the online forum TheDonald on Wednesday morning was titled āFuck Mike Pence. šš»šš»šš».ā And chilling calls for violence against the former vice president were rising to the top of the comments thread.
Pence plays a starring role in the new indictment of Donald Trump, which quotes Trump telling Pence, āYouāre too honestā after the vice president refused to block certification of Joe Bidenās presidential win.
And Pence met the news of the indictment with harsh criticism of Trump, now a rival for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. Pence tweeted that āanyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States.ā
Special prosecutor Jack Smithās indictment also recalls how Trump, unable to convince Pence to become a co-conspirator in his despotic plot to steal the presidency, instead unleashed a mob of MAGA supporters against him. āAt the Capitol,ā the court document reads, āmembers of the crowd chanted, āHang Mike Pence!ā; āWhere is Pence? Bring him out!ā; and āTraitor Pence!āā
Such dark sentiments against Pence now have been revived, at an online forum that played a key role for plotters of the unrest of Jan. 6. TheDonald is a Reddit like forum for the Trumpiest of the Trump faithful. Both individual posts, and the comments on them, rise based on the āupvotingā of users, giving a glimpse into the collective psyche of the community.
The top comment on the Pence post called for divine retribution against the ātraitor.ā It reads: āMay GOD Strike him down for his lies and treachery to the American People.ā But as other commenters piled on, they fantasized about a public execution of Pence at a gallows. āI want to watch his toes dangle in the breeze,ā wrote user BigMikesHairyDong.
āI want to stand beside you as witness,ā wrote user Totally_Passable adding, āI want to pull the lever.ā This user made clear he didnāt want the violence to end with Pence: āI long for the day we the people pull these traitorsā¦ out of their seats screaming, knowing full well what is coming to them, and why its coming.ā
Instead of recoiling at the call to execute Pence, other users joined the call for mob violence. āNo long drops,ā said another user, echoing many of the replies. āHumane execution should be off the table.ā