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Former President Donald Trump and his former running mate Mike Pence are slated to speak at the National Rifle Association convention next month in Indianapolis as they continue to spar over Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by rioters on the Capitol.
The NRA’s website lists both men as confirmed speakers for the convention’s leadership forum on April 14, the first day of the three-day convention at the Indiana Convention Center.
Their appearances approach as Trump marches ahead with his announced bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and Pence visits key primary states in preparation for his own potential run.
Pence, who served as Trump’s vice president and earlier as Indiana governor, has said history would “hold Donald Trump accountable” for the former president’s role in the Jan. 6 attack in which Trump supporters attempted to stop Pence from moving ahead with the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory over Trump.
But Pence has come to Trump’s defense in recent days as the former president faces the possibility of criminal charges from the New York Attorney General’s Office for allegedly paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2006.
A grand jury is currently examining whether Trump should face charges under New York state law for allegedly falsifying business records related to the payment to cover up a possible violation of campaign finance laws.
Pence called the investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg “a politically charged prosecution” of the former president.
“What we’re witnessing is what I call the criminalization of politics,” Pence said Thursday on “The Sean Hannity Show.” “Let me stipulate–no one’s above the law, but no one is below the law, and the American people are tired of the two-tiered justice system in this country.”
Other confirmed speakers for the next month’s NRA convention are U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, who is running for Indiana governor; Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, who is term-limited and pondering his next career move; U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan; South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem; New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson
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Didn’t realize the garbage convention was coming back to town. And to top it off they’re bring excess trash with them.
I bet they can’t have guns at the speeches. How ironic.
You mean ironic like the DNC Convention requiring picture IDs for entry? How disenfranchising.
Yeah, that was funny.
The DNC requiring ID at their events while screaming about Voter ID.
The convention will kick off , I am sure, with a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. It should be followed by a reading of the Militia Acts of 1792 (which provides the context for the “well-regulated militia” phrase use in the 2nd Amendment).
Donald “Take The Guns First, Go Through Due Process Second” Trump is speaking at an NRA convention? Hypocrisy knows no bounds.
“Or, take the firearms first and then go to court… I like to take the firearms early… Take the guns first, go through due process second” Trump said in 2018. Yet the 2A crowd still love these grifters. Trump enacted more gun control legislation than Obama, who only signed two gun-related laws, both of which EXPANDED gun rights by allowing to carry in national parks and on Amtrak. Yet NRA members will eat up anything MAGA.
Makes you so proud to be a Hoosier. Having these nut jobs in our city makes me sick. 🙁
amen
There will be fewer shootings (probably zero, unless in self defense against a local assailant) by the NRA crowd in attendance than the average weekend in Indianapolis.
Right. Because the “good guys with guns” have always been there to save the day.
David L. – Where in my comment did I suggest “good guys with guns” have always been there to save the day? On rare occasion, they do (note the Greenwood Mall as one example). I merely predicted there would be fewer shooting by NRA members when they are in town than an average weekend in Indianapolis.
Because all legal gun owners are safe gun owners, right?.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/25/us/illegal-guns-parked-cars.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Susan H. – Where in my comment did I suggest or state that all legal gun owners are safe gun owners? Unfortunately the NYT has years ago surrendered any pretense of objectivity (as many other left and right wing news outlets have, to be fair). In response to the invective against the NRA and their members in other comments here, I predicted there would be fewer shootings by NRA members during the convention than occur during the average weekend in Indianapolis. A low bar, I would admit, but it is I think a valid albeit provocative comparison, as evidenced by your and David L’s tangential responses that do not directly refute the comparison.
I think gun crimes should be punished EXTREMELY severely – FAR more severely than they are currently. But in many cases, the gun crime(s) are dropped as part of a plea deal (as documented recently in our own Indy Star). I actually think the gun penalties should be INCREASED, and prosecutors not allowed to drop them as part of a plea deal. In other words, the firearm penalties – unreduced – should be additive to whatever plea deal the prosecutor reaches with the criminal. Furthermore, I think if someone is caught with an illegal firearm, it should trigger an automatic “red flag” and associated search warrant to look for more firearms in their place of residence. The possession of an illegal firearm is in itself the probable cause for the “red flag” and associated search warrant, and then ALL firearms [legally or illegally purchased] possessed by that individual can be seized and adjudicated through the red flag process.