There were two MAGA terrorist attacks on Saturday—but corporate media refuses to call them that!

This makes us less safe!

Corporate media again refuses to call MAGA supporters who commit violence to further the movement’s political agenda what they are: MAGA terrorists. Instead, corporate media “both sides” political violence--as opposed to demanding that law enforcement focus on the threat posed by MAGA extremists. This makes us less safe.

We saw two examples of this over the past few days. First, there was Saturday’s deadly MAGA terrorist attack in Minnesota targeting Democrats. In addition, there’s plausibly a second MAGA terrorist attack in Virginia where a young angry white guy drove his car into a “No Kings” protest because he opposed their anti-Trump message.

First, in Minnesota, the terrorist Vance Boelter was as MAGA as they come. He was a “strong supporter” of Trump, not just voting for him but he had attended Trump campaign rallies--as his roommate told the media. Boelter was described as politically very “conservative” and records note he had been a registered as Republican when he lived in Oklahoma. (In Minnesota, voters don’t register by political party.)

In addition, Boelter was very active in the white, evangelical religious movement—which overwhelmingly supports Trump. Boelter had in the past slammed abortion as “murder” and even criticized American churches in 2023 for not speaking out more that “abortion was wrong.”

Let’s be clear: Boelter’s shooting of two Democratic lawmakers was not some random act of violence. No, Democrats were his planned targets. U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Joseph Thompson put it this way on Monday, Boelter had "stalked his victims like prey" and "shot them in cold blood."

Boelter—like many other terrorists --had planned this attack well in advance. Authorities note in pleadings on Monday that he spent likely months where he “extensively planned his stalking, murders, and attempted murders.” He had engaged in surveillance of various Democratic officials.

For the attack itself, he utilized a black SUV fitted with emergency lights and a license plate that read, "police." His vehicle was filled with five firearms, including “semi-automatic, assault-style rifles,” ammunition and thousands in cash. In addition, he was dressed in tactical armor with a police-style badge and wearing a silicone mask hiding his face.

Even more alarming—as well as telling—is that Boelter had a long list of exclusively Democratic elected officials—as well as pro-choice activists—that he was planning to kill. The list included Minnesota Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar, Kelly Morrison and Angie Craig. There has been zero Republicans reported to be on his hit list.

Now you understand why after the attack Minnesota Governor Tim Walz described the shooting as “a politically motivated assassination.”

This was an act of “domestic terrorism” as defined by both federal and Minnesota law. The shooting involved “acts dangerous to human life” designed “to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion” or “to affect the conduct of a government by…assassination.”

Yet have you heard or read reports in corporate media labeling Boelter a terrorist? No. And despite the fact that this Trump loving, registered Republican, far-right evangelical only targeted Democrats, you will likely never hear the media refer to Boelter as a “MAGA terrorist.”

But then again despite FBI Director Christopher Wray testifying before Congress numerous times that DOJ had designated Jan. 6 an act of “domestic terrorism,” we never heard corporate media refer to the Jan. 6 attackers as “terrorists” let alone “MAGA terrorists.”

Why? Various reasons from the fact that corporate media rarely if ever uses the term “terrorist” for white people. And because using the term “MAGA terrorist” would alienate viewers and readers from MAGA—which is bad for business.

Then there was the incident in Culpepper, Virginia involving angry, 21-year-old white guy, Joseph R. Checklick Jr. who targeted people attending the anti-Trump “No Kings” protest. As the rallygoers were leaving the event, Checklick per the police “intentionally accelerated his vehicle into the dispersing crowd.” Several people had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit by the car. Checklick’s vehicle did make contact with at least one man’s hand as it passed by.

On Monday, in a new court filing, we learned that Checklick had "stated that he disapproved of the protesters and that it was not right for them to be there." Checklick—who is in the third year of a plumbing apprenticeship--is currently being held without bail given concerns he may be a threat to the community.

At this point we don’t have evidence with Checklick was a Trump supporter. But his statement to the police that he “disapproved of the protesters” tells us there he was upset people were denouncing Trump. Thus, there was a political element to the use his vehicle as a weapon to stop the protest.

These events are not rare. Over the past few years, we’ve seen numerous acts of terrorism from MAGA. Incidents range from the Trump supporter who brutally attacked Nancy Pelosi’s 82 year-old husband, Paul, with a hammer to death threats against lawyers/judges/FBI agents involved in cases prosecuting Trump to, of course, Trump’s Jan. 6 attack on our Capitol.

There is no “both sides” to MAGA terrorism. While there are rare incidents of violence by self-identified Democrats, the leaders of the Democratic party vocally denounce any such conduct.

In contrast, Trump celebrates the MAGA terrorists. For example, in the case of the home invasion and assault of Paul Pelosi who suffered a fractured skull, Trump mocked the attack at a rally in 2023 to big laughs from the MAGA faithful. Over the years, Trump has called for and praised people attacking hecklers at his rallies—even offering to pay legal fees of supporters for such conduct. And of course, Trump celebrated the Jan. 6 attackers who brutally beat up police officers—calling them “patriots” and then pardoning them on Day one of his presidency.

The other MAGA ploy is to blame Democrats for MAGA terrorism. We saw that after Saturday’s MAGA terrorist attack in Minnesota. MAGA Senator Mike Lee posted an FBI image of the suspect with the caption, "This is what happens [w]hen Marxists don't get their way."

Worse, Donald Trump, Jr, appeared on News nation Monday where he claimed, “The guy that committed those atrocities this weekend is a Democrat” who had worked for Tim Walz. Son—like father—are liars. In reality, the killer was a Trump loving, registered Republican who had been appointed to one of more than 100 non-partisan boards and advisory councils by Walz six years ago. Since then, he was clearly radicalized by the likes of Trump and MAGA.

Show me one example the leaders of the Democratic party defending and celebrating people who engaged in political violence?! Or defending it by lying that the person was a Republican?! You can’t because it does not exist. But the leader of the GOP, Trump, has for years incited violence, refused to denounce and even praised MAGA terrorists.

A 2022 study by UC Davis’s “Centers for Violence Prevention” warned us we would see more MAGA violence—but again the corporate media ignored it. That study posed the question: Are MAGA Republicans more likely than others—including mainstream Republicans-- to endorse political violence? “The answer was an emphatic yes.”

Alarmingly, nearly 60% of self-identified members of MAGA responded that violence was justified to achieve certain pro-Trump political goals—such as returning Trump to the White House. (In contrast, about 31% of mainstream Republicans responded violence was justified to achieve political goals.)

There is no “both sides” when it comes to political violence—despite corporate media doing their best to manufacture that reality. That is why the refusal of corporate media to use the term “terrorist” and especially “MAGA terrorist” is so dangerous. It makes us all of us who oppose Trump less safe.

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