Trump's minimization of racist violence by his supporters began quite a bit earlier than Heather Heyer:
A Donald Trump-Inspired Hate Crime in Boston - The Atlantic
From August 2015:
Quote:
Police in Boston say that one of two brothers who allegedly beat a homeless Hispanic man cited Trump’s message on immigration as a motivation for their attack. "Donald Trump was right, all these illegals need to be deported"
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"I think that would be a shame," he said, according to The Boston Herald, in reference to the report. He said he hadn’t heard about the incident but then defended his most ardent supporters as "passionate."
Quote:
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I will say, the people that are following me are very passionate. They love this country. They want this country to be great again. But they are very passionate. I will say that.
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People who urinate on a man and beat him with a metal pole, putting him in the hospital, because he's Hispanic, they just have passionate love for their country.
Now Trump doesn't control the Boston DA's office. How sure is But that Trump would prosecute them to the full extent of the law if it were his personal decision?
Anyway, the real problem is that Democrats aren't measured enough in their rhetoric in pushing back at attempts to undermine the independence of the justice system.