WACO, Texas, (Reuters) – Die-hard fans of Donald Trump flocked to the ex-president’s election rally in Waco, Texas, yesterday, brimming with defiance as their favored candidate faces legal peril from prosecutors and mixed polling ahead of next year’s Republican primary elections.
The legal threats hanging over the former president were front of mind for some attendees, many of whom flashed signs saying “WITCH HUNT.”
Trump is facing allegations he violated campaign finance laws for paying hush money to an adult film actress ahead of the 2016 election – an investigation being led by prosecutors in Manhattan. A special counsel appointed by the Department of Justice is investigating allegations he hoarded top-secret documents and masterminded a plot seeking to overturn the 2020 election.
Republican lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of Trump’s most vocal supporters in Congress, told the crowd it was time to “take back” the Department of Justice.
“You have to understand: they are not just coming after President Trump, they are coming after you, and President Trump is just the only one standing in their way,” she said.
Trump’s rally is happening in Waco as the city marks the 30th anniversary of a raid by federal agents on the Branch Davidians religious sect there that resulted in 86 deaths, including four law-enforcement officers. Many right-wing extremists see the raid as a seminal moment of government overreach, and critics saw the rally’s timing as a nod to Trump’s far-right supporters.
In an email, a Trump campaign spokesperson said Waco was chosen for what the former president has billed as his first major rally of the 2024 presidential race because it is situated between several major population centers and has the infrastructure to host a large event.
