In response to the federal indictment of former President Donald Trump over his allegedly willful mishandling of classified documents at his South Florida home, two right-wing congressman invoked seemingly violent rhetoric in response. “We have now reached a war phase. Eye for an eye,” tweeted Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) moments after the scathing, 44-page indictment was unsealed. A spokesperson for Biggs told Bloomberg News that the congressman did not mean literal war. The night prior, his fellow MAGA diehard, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), cryptically tweeted about the indictment: “This is a perimeter probe from the oppressors. Hold. rPOTUS has this. Buckle up. 1/50K know your bridges. Rock steady calm. That is all.” Experts including a former Republican lawmaker and a natsec official chimed in to explain that the congressman was invoking military planning terminology for gearing up to make contact with the enemy. (The phrase “rPOTUS” is an acronym used by election-denying MAGA boosters to mean “real president of the United States.”)
