Social media erupted on Sunday after Ivan Raiklin, the self-described “Secretary of Retribution” for former President Donald Trump, suggested a possible assassination attempt against Vice President Kamala Harris. Raiklin, who claims to have compiled a “Deep State target list” of 350 individuals he deems traitors, made the incendiary suggestion in a recent post on X (formerly known as Twitter), further intensifying the already volatile political climate.
Raiklin took to social media to make a chilling statement: “In a duel, each side gets one shot. They missed 36 days ago. Now it’s our turn.”
This comment appeared to reference an earlier attempt on Trump’s life, and some interpreted it as a call to action against Harris, the Democratic nominee for the upcoming presidential election.
The post drew immediate condemnation, with many users demanding a federal response. “Did you seriously just suggest someone gets to take a shot at Kamala?!?” wrote one outraged user. Another user warned of federal intervention, stating, “I can’t wait for the FBI to come knocking on your door.”
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The Secret Service and FBI were quickly alerted to Raiklin’s comments, with several users urging these agencies to take the threat seriously.
“@SecretService, @FBI, someone’s advocating for a political assassination here,” one user tweeted, while another remarked, “Calling @FBI. You guys over there see this threat? Take it seriously. This squirrel is threatening an assassination attempt.”
Critics of Raiklin’s rhetoric also pointed out the hypocrisy and danger of his statements. One user reminded Raiklin that it was a Republican who attempted to assassinate Trump, suggesting that Raiklin’s focus on retaliating against Harris rather than addressing internal threats within his own ranks was indicative of a dangerous ideological blind spot. “One of your own tried to take out your leader & instead of questioning why, instead of looking into Trump’s crazy plans, you go after the other side. This is why we know you’re in a cult,” the user wrote.
Another user harshly criticized Raiklin’s comments, saying, “A fucking Republican who got kicked off the gun club for being a bad shot. You encouraged him by saying that if someone killed 45, we would get revenge. You’re gonna get all the visits, bro. Keep talking, it’s what you assholes love to do.”
There were also reminders of Raiklin’s own dangerous rhetoric in the past. “We know it was you! BREAKING NEWS: Raiklin and Jones called for Trump’s assassination on Infowars, calling it ‘the best possible scenario’ for starting the ‘cleanse,’” one user posted, linking to previous inflammatory remarks by Raiklin.
5 months ago, Alex Jones and InfoWars guest Ivan Raiklin discussed how assassinating Trump would be beneficial, according to them, because it would lead to retaliatory “in kind” assassinations of a “deep state” list which includes President Joe Biden.
Ivan Raiklin: “If they… pic.twitter.com/yzc1x1QJxh
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) July 14, 2024
The backlash against Raiklin has ignited a broader debate about political discourse and the limits of free speech in a highly polarized society. The focus will be on ensuring that such inflammatory rhetoric does not translate into actionable threats against public officials or exacerbate the already fraught political climate.
Here’s a screenshot and some of the reactions below:
