White House Mum on Petition Calling for Trump's Arrest
The petition called for Trump's arrest for alleged 'incitement of violence."
— -- The White House is refusing to comment on an online petition calling for Donald Trump's arrest and prosecution “for incitement of violence.”
“We decline to comment on the specific request raised in the petition, which falls outside the scope of the We the People Terms of Participation,” the White House posted in response to the online petition on April 1. “You can read the full Terms of Participation to get a better sense of why We the People is designed the way it is, and to learn more about its guidelines for use.”
The petition, filed through the White House's "We the People" petition process, prompted a White House response by obtaining 100,000 signatures in 30 days. The petition had 101,491 signatures as of Monday afternoon.
Though the White House does not specify which terms of participation were violated by the petition, the terms listed on the White House website state that petitions cannot "expressly urge the support or opposition of candidates for elected office."
The petition alleges that Trump has been inciting violent acts among his supporters and cites legal precedent to justify his arrest and prosecution on the basis of 1969 Supreme Court case Brandenburg v. Ohio. The case determined that the government can punish inflammatory speech if, and only if, it is likely to cause "imminent lawless action."
"Clearly, he is doing exactly that," says the petition, which does not cite specific examples.
Trump and his campaign were investigated for potential inciting a riot charges in North Carolina, but ultimately the Cumberland County Sheriff's office said "that the evidence does not meet the requisites of the law."
Trump has been criticized for appearing to condone violence against protesters, saying that he wanted to punch one of them in the face at one point. He also was criticized for saying that riots could erupt if he were denied the nomination despite being close to the threshold of delegates to clinch it outright.
Trump has repeatedly said he does not condone violence.