DANGEROUS ACTS
Trump’s COVID-19 Advisor Accused of ‘Inciting Violence’ After Calling for Michigan to ‘Rise Up’ Against Whitmer’s New Order
President Donald Trump’s top coronavirus advisor, Dr. Scott Atlas, is being accused of sedition and inciting violence by calling for Michigan to “rise up” after Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued new orders to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
“The only way this stops is if people rise up. You get what you accept,” Atlas, who is a radiologist – not an epidemiologist – tweeted Sunday night. He added the hashtags “#FreedomMatters” and “#StepUp” to his tweet.
Last month 14 people were charged in an alleged domestic terror plot to kidnap Governor Whitmer. Some reportedly also had a plan to “overthrow” the government, and some allegedly had “made plans to kidnap Whitmer and commit violence with the hopes of sparking a ‘civil war,'” MLive.com reports, quoting Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Back in May another man was charged with “credible threats to kill” Gov. Whitmer.
Dr. Atlas is currently serving as a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, which is headed by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Michigan’s Governor Whitmer Sunday night quickly pushed back against Atlas’s transparent attempts at what some are calling an attempt to incite violence (something First Daughter Ivanka Trump was also accused of attempting to do Sunday.)
MI Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: “I’m not going to be bullied into not following reputable scientists and medical professionals.” pic.twitter.com/PKPIQRukM4
— The Hill (@thehill) November 16, 2020
Hours after Atlas’s tweet, he returned to Twitter to insist he wasn’t attempting to incite violence, but was merely talking about the electoral process and the right to peacefully protest.
Hey. I NEVER was talking at all about violence. People vote, people peacefully protest. NEVER would I endorse or incite violence. NEVER!! https://t.co/LljvwMvjDV
— Scott W. Atlas (@SWAtlasHoover) November 16, 2020
Monday morning, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) blasted Atlas for “making implicit calls for violence.”
Dr. Scott Atlas' tweet over the weekend was irresponsible, dangerous, and utterly offensive. As our nation reaches over 10M cases & over 245K deaths due to COVID, Dr. Atlas should focus on containing the virus & saving lives, not making implicit calls for violence.
— Rep. Debbie Dingell (@RepDebDingell) November 16, 2020
Here’s what some others are saying about Dr. Atlas’s tweets:
Hard to denounce this emphatically enough.
Actual public health professionals do not incite violence in response to guidelines or policy that they disagree with. The purpose of public health is to help people, not endanger them. https://t.co/4etj2MBDjo
— Dr. Angela Rasmussen (@angie_rasmussen) November 16, 2020
Given the context of the pro-Trump murder plot against Whitmer, there’s really no way to see this as anything but incitement to violence and murder. Atlas is sore because his time in the White House is ending in disgrace and this is how he acts out. https://t.co/KOyMp1nRdQ
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) November 16, 2020
This is sedition. @FBI https://t.co/PlGYKgaO2h
— Peter Gleick 🇺🇸 (@PeterGleick) November 16, 2020
I don’t believe him either. Imo #ScottAtlas is urging folks 2 rise up against #gretchenwhitmer (just dealt w/death threats, kidnapping plot)
Now his story changes2 maskless protests against #WearAMask, & against @CDCgov #COVID19 guidelines.
Either way he promotes Violence/DEATH.— Hope E Ransom (HopeERinFL) (@SoulFlyTry) November 16, 2020
You were urging people in Michigan to vote … in the next elections, two years from now?
Sure, that definitely checks out.
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) November 16, 2020
Trump’s medical adviser is calling for people to “rise up” against the new COVID order in Michigan, where the FBI already foiled one alleged plot to kidnap and assassinate the governor over her actions on COVID. https://t.co/ckkAYNFnj7
— Jonathan Cohn (@CitizenCohn) November 16, 2020
This @Stanford professor and Sr. Fellow at the @HooverInst seems to be encouraging #revolution in Michigan. 🤔#Sedition @fbi @MichStatePolice https://t.co/FOIoWyXhqG
— Doug Warren (@iamDougWarren) November 16, 2020
Hi Scott. Look I know you’re desperately trying to bail yourself out here but we all know what you meant. You saw the thousand loser march yesterday and thought you’d be clever. You’re a liar, a charlatan and a fraud. Tick tock. Your relevancy is ending along with your career.
— Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) November 16, 2020
I believe you probably were. Please google “perlocutionary effect” and then consider how dangerous your words were.
Also: aren’t you supposed to be fighting the pandemic, not fighting those who are fighting it?
— Steven Mazie (@stevenmazie) November 16, 2020
Hey lunatic this is all kinds of dangerous
— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) November 16, 2020
.@SWAtlasHoover The Governer was threatened with kidnapping, execution
Telling people to rise up against the Governor could incite violence towards her.— Cyndl (@cmtwx) November 16, 2020
A physician calling for violence. The administration should be replaced presently.
Between threats of violence, national security & the abandonment of the job by Trump, it can only serve to undermine our nation— Fairview- (@jbw1837) November 16, 2020
Coup.
I know a lot of people understand it differently.
I stand by my position.
You know who Dr. Atlas is.
This is a very clear case of sedition. https://t.co/38jxDtenE6
— swerdloffesq (@swerdloffesq) November 16, 2020
White House COVID hack calls for people to “rise up” against a governor who’s already been the target of a domestic terror plot. https://t.co/McKQsWMhoc
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) November 16, 2020
This man is a threat to the public health and our national security. And @Stanford…why does he remain on your faculty? https://t.co/1MhKxCvbye
— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) November 16, 2020
Here is sedition on display, @Twitter. The very definition. @FBI needs to investigate. You need to assist. And you need to REMOVE THIS ACCOUNT before you become accomplices. https://t.co/epl5sI4Oex
— Chris Barnhart (@cm_barnhart) November 16, 2020
This article has been updated to include Congresswoman Dingell’s tweet.
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