A group of teens from Baltimore made a music video titled “CITDT,” or “Chopper in the Trunk for Donald Trump.” The video, seen above, makes explicit threats against Donald Trump using a shovel and the titular chopper, a slang reference to an AK-47. The video also makes reference to the attack on Trump at a Dayton rally and the shutdown of a Trump event in Chicago by protestors, as well as Trump’s controversial references to his daughter and a crack at his skin tone.
Despite getting attention for its “threats,” the video is highly unlikely to cause civil or criminal action. Under the standard set in Brandenburg v. Ohio, speech faces criminal charges for incitement of violence only if violence is intended, imminent, and likely; it’s unlikely that a music video using standard hip-hop braggadocio and recorded in a town Trump is not expected to visit will pass this test. It’s not the first time Trump-related speech has raised free speech concerns; notably, Trump faced his own incitement allegations before it was eventually determined his rally conduct did not meet the threshold for incitement.
