Trump retweets post calling for Georgia republicans to be jailed

Lin Wood’s tweet targeted governor Brian Kemp and secretary of state Brad Raffensperger

President Donald Trump has retweeted a post from a conservative attorney that called for senior Georgia Republicans to be jailed.

On Tuesday, Mr Trump retweeted a tweet from Lin Wood, an attorney who has filed multiple unsuccessful lawsuits in an effort to help the President overturn 3 November’s election results.

“President Trump…is a genuinely good man. He does not really like to fire people. I bet he dislikes putting people in jail, especially ‘Republicans,’” Mr Wood said.

“He gave @BrianKempGA & @GaSecofState every chance to get it right. They refused. They will soon be going to jail,” he added, in the post that was retweeted by President Trump on Tuesday morning.

The two senior Republican officials had Chinese flag masks photoshopped onto their faces in the accompanying picture, in reference to Mr Wood’s claims that China helped rig the election for the Democrats.

President Trump has publicly criticised Georgia governor Brian Kemp and secretary of state Brad Raffensperger in recent weeks, after he become the first Republican to lose the state in nearly 30 years when he lost to President-elect Joe Biden on 3 November.

Although Mr Biden was declared the winner of the presidential election last month, Mr Trump has repeatedly falsely claimed that there was widespread voter fraud and has still not conceded.

Mr Trump and his team have had more than 50 legal challenges dismissed over the last month, including in Georgia, as he and his allies are still attempting to overturn 3 November’s election results. There is no evidence for the claims.

Speaking to Fox News in November, President Trump said that he is “ashamed” that he endorsed Mr Kemp for governor in 2018, after claiming that he had “done absolutely nothing” to question the state’s results.

The following day, Mr Trump described Mr Kemp as “hapless” and said he should use his “emergency powers, which can be easily done, to overrule his obstinate Secretary of State,” in reference to Mr Raffensperger.

Mr Kemp has tried to keep out of the public feud, with runoff races in the state scheduled in January to decide which party has control of the US Senate, but his spokesperson said that Georgia law bars him “from interfering in elections.”

President Trump reignited the feud on Monday, when he called Mr Kemp a “fool” and a “clown”, adding that it “could have been so easy, but now we have to do it the hard way.”

Mr Trump then asked his supporters to demand a special session of the Georgia legislature, in a last-ditch attempt to overturn the state’s results.

Meanwhile, Mr Wood has attempted to aid President Trump in his legal battles, and has repeatedly falsely claimed that voting machines were rigged to help the Democrats win the election.

A Trump appointed judge in Georgia dismissed a joint lawsuit from Mr Wood and former Trump campaign attorney Sidney Powell earlier this month, which asked for voting machines to be examined.

On Monday, the attorney appeared to reference firearms and ammunition as he told his supporters to stock up on “2nd Amendment supplies”.

“Better to be safe than sorry,” Mr Lin tweeted on Monday, before he added: “Make sure you have PLENTY of water, food, flashlights & batteries, candles, radio, 2nd Amendment supplies, & a plan to meet with leaders of your communities.

“Remember we only have 1 President at a time. Our leader is @realDonaldTrump, not Biden.”

Mr Lin’s tweet came a couple of days after Trump supporters called for civil unrest in the US, following the US Supreme Court’s decision to not hear a lawsuit from Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, which attempted to set aside 62 electoral votes in four battleground states, according to Newsweek.

The unsucessful lawsuit attempted to get the lawmakers in the Republican-led states of Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin to decide their own electors, instead of submitting the Democratic wins that were voted on by their residents.

On Monday, the US Electoral College confirmed Mr Biden as the winner of the presidential election, with 306 electoral votes to Mr Trump’s 232.

Following the confirmation of his victory, Mr Biden said it is time to “turn the page, as we've done throughout our history, to unite, to heal”.

The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.