Inside Trump's Vulgar & Bigoted Troll Army
Originally posted by Adam_PoE
MAGA influencer and Students for Trump co-founder Ryan Fournier has taken shots at a congressional candidate for his legal work representing people accused of drunk driving:"DUI defender Kevin Hayslett spent 70% of his time as a lawyer was defending those caught driving drunk or high. Is this someone we want in Congress?"
"DUI defender Kevin Hayslett's clients give him a 5-star rating. Many victims are no longer with us to give their ratings."
But while the right-wing youth activist may not think DUI criminal defense attorneys belong in federal office, he may be grateful to have had one such lawyer himself.
Last week, Fournier, 27, appeared in a Guilford County, North Carolina courtroom in connection to a slate of serious traffic offenses, including driving while impaired, aggressive driving, driving to endanger, and fleeing/eluding arrest with a motor vehicle, court records show. The offenses came from a February 2021 traffic stop and arrest where Fournier—who had been charged with a DWI in the same county four months prior—was booked after driving 101 miles an hour.
Fournier has nearly one million Twitter followers and is the co-founder of Turning Point Action. Last year, the other Students For Trump founder, John Lambert, was sentenced to 13 months in prison for masquerading as a lawyer with an Ivy League degree. Fournier, who helped Lambert create the fake law firm, testified against him, in return for avoiding charges.
Bryan Heestand does not work for Trump, but he belongs to a small circle of video meme-makers who have effectively served as a shadow online advertising agency for his presidential campaign. Led by a little-known podcaster and life coach, this meme team has spent much of the year flooding social media with content that lionizes the former president, promotes his White House bid, and brutally denigrates his opponents.
Cheered on by Trump, the group traffics freely in misinformation, artificial intelligence, and digital forgeries known as deepfakes. Its memes are riddled with racist stereotypes, demeaning tropes about LGBTQ people, and broad scatological humor.
Their most vulgar invectives are often aimed at women, particularly those seen as enemies of Trump. In one video, Nikki Haley's face is pasted on the body of a nearly naked woman who kicks a man with the face of DeSantis in the groin. Another depicts Casey DeSantis, the governor's wife, as a porn star. Women with ties to DeSantis are often shown with red knees, suggesting they have performed a sex act.
These memes are often shared by Trump Junior, Trump's campaign spokesman, Trump aide Dan Scavino, and other prominent MAGATards.
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