'Harbinger of chaos': Report reveals sophisticated effort to meet Trump loss with violence
Far-right supporters of Donald Trump are better prepared than they were in 2020 to challenge the former president's potential election day defeat with violence, the New York Times reported Monday.
An analysis of right-wing Telegram channels revealed "a harbinger of potential chaos" should Vice President Kamala Harris emerge victorious on Election Day on Tuesday, according to the report.
"Nearly every channel reviewed by The Times was created after the 2020 election, highlighting the growth and increased sophistication of the election denialism movement," the report states.
Trump supporters are being encouraged closely watch polling locations on Election Day -- and be prepared to rise up if the election results come in strong for Harris, the Times reported.
“The day is fast approaching when fence sitting will no longer be possible,” read a recent post from the Ohio Proud Boys' Telegram channel. “You will either stand with the resistance or take a knee and willingly accept the yoke of tyranny and oppression.”
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The Times found much more organization than was present four years ago, when Trump supporters made a desperate last-ditch bid to keep him in office by violently assaulting the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
"A New York Times analysis of more than one million messages across nearly 50 Telegram channels with over 500,000 members found a sprawling and interconnected movement intended to question the credibility of the presidential election, interfere with the voting process and potentially dispute the outcome," the paper writes.
Telegram channels in multiple states, including New Hampshire, Georgia, and New Mexico, recommended a multitude of ways that activists could cast doubt on the veracity of the election, while other channels explicitly told followers to be prepared for violent action after the votes are cast.
Katherine Keneally, a former intelligence analyst with the New York Police Department, told the Times that it would be dangerous to view these communications as merely Trump supporters blowing off steam.
"Telegram is very often central to actually organizing people to engage in offline activity," said Keneally, "very strategically to radicalize and recruit."