There May Be Riots if Republicans Fill Empty Seat Pre-Election
The Claim
After the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Sept. 18, many people on both the political left and the right predicted that the widespread rioting across America will intensify if Republicans attempt to fill Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat before the election.
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Emerging story
It’s difficult to know who first suggested rioting after Ginsburg’s death, but former CNN contributor and religion scholar Reza Aslan was certainly one of the first. Tweeted just minutes after news of Ginsburg death broke, his comment was subsequently retweeted nearly 13,000 times.
Other people expressed the same thought, albeit in a much gentler way. One of those was Amanda Litman, the co-founder and executive director of Run for Something, which recruits young progressives to run for political office. “May her memory be a revolution,” Litman tweeted, to which one of her followers replied with a call to riot.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar finds this claim to be true. According to The Oregonian, protests in Portland had occurred for 101 straight nights before they were stalled by smoke from wildfires earlier this month. Protests resumed the night Ginsburg died. 11 people were arrested, mostly on charges of disorderly conduct and interfering with a police officer.
On Sept. 19, a group of more than 100 protesters gathered outside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's house in Louisville, Kentucky.
President Trump has said he will announce his Supreme Court soon — and that it will be a woman. As the political fight over Ginsburg’s replacement heats up, it is likely that protests and riots will increase, as well.
