Reddit prohibits content that “encourages,” “incites,” or “calls for violence,” and the site previously quarantined “r/The_Donald” for violating the policy

Reddit: “Do not post content that encourages, glorifies, incites, or calls for violence or physical harm.” From the site’s “account and community restrictions” section:

Reddit previously quarantined “r/The_Donald” for violating this policy. In June, Media Matters reported on multiple “r/The_Donald” users violating this policy by issuing calls to violence against Oregon law enforcement. Soon after, Reddit quarantined the subreddit, meaning it would no longer appear on the main Reddit feed. In a message shared by a moderator for “r/The_Donald” that explained the decision to quarantine the subreddit, a Reddit administrator wrote that “we are troubled that violent content more often goes unreported, and worse, is upvoted.” [Media Matters, 6/24/19; The Verge, 6/26/19; Reddit, accessed 12/18/19]

Reddit has previously banned multiple subreddits in violation of this policy. Reddit “shut down several Nazi and white supremacist subreddits” in 2017 because of its policy regarding inciting violence, according to The Verge. In 2018, the site banned the largest subreddit dedicated to the QAnon conspiracy theory, citing “repeated violations of the terms” of its content policy, NBC News reported, noting that the forum was “host to a stream of violent threats.” And on June 20, the platform banned the subreddit “r/frenworld,” which “featured racist and anti-Semitic Pepe the Frog-style cartoons,” with a spokesperson saying it “violated rules against encouraging and glorifying violence,” according to The Daily Beast reporter Will Sommer. [The Verge, 10/25/17; NBC News, 9/12/18; Twitter, 6/20/19]

Users of “r/The_Donald” have posted in support of violently opposing proposed gun safety laws and their potential enforcement

Virginia’s governor has proposed gun safety bills and said there will be “consequences” for law enforcement officials who refuse to enforce the bills if they become law. Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has proposed a series of gun safety bills for the next legislative session. In response, multiple counties in the state have declared themselves “Second Amendment sanctuaries,” adopting largely symbolic resolutions that say they will not enforce what they deem to be unconstitutional gun laws. Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA) suggested that Northam use the commonwealth’s National Guard to enforce the bills if they become law, and Northam has warned of “consequences” if localities refuse to enforce new gun laws, adding that he would “cross that bridge if and when we get to it.” The Twitter account for the Virginia National Guard has tweeted that it had “not received any requests from the Governor, or anyone on his staff, about serving in a law enforcement role related to any proposed legislation” and encouraged residents to “be patient while we allow our elected officials to work through the legislative process.” [CNN, 11/6/19; WSLS, 12/12/19; Newsweek, 12/13/19; Twitter, 12/13/19]

Users on “r/The_Donald” have posted calls to violence against state government officials. In response to the discussion about the Virginia National Guard and the proposed gun safety laws, multiple users on the subreddit “r/The_Donald” have issued calls for violence to prevent the potential enforcement of the proposed laws.

• A user wrote that, “If I have to take a road trip to Virginia that might cost me my life, I'm not fighting the guard.” Instead they claimed they would be “joining which ever band is going straight for the governor's mansion” because “it's the only way to strike fear into these tyrants in other states who are thinking this sounds like a great idea.”

[Reddit, accessed 12/17/19]

• Another user wrote that “as long as we're gonna have the gang together we should head west and teach Californian politicians a lesson too.” In response to a comment about possible “civil conflict,” the same user wrote that violence was “not only … inevitable but it is necessary.”

[Reddit, accessed 12/17/19]

• One user argued that “it may be time this has to play out” because “the Virginia legislature or governor cannot remove the second amendment.”

[Reddit, accessed 12/17/19]

• A user claimed that Virginia’s governor is “waging war on us” and that “the world is about to find out how powerful the 2nd amendment really is.”

[Reddit, accessed 12/17/19]

• A user argued that it was “time to ammo up” in response.

[Reddit, accessed 12/17/19]

• Another user argued that “when they cannot help but go for the guns, we'll have no constitutional option but to give them the bullets.”

[Reddit, accessed 12/17/19]

• A user encouraged “everyone [to] grab your Brown Besses,” a type of firearm used during the American Revolution.

[Reddit, accessed 12/17/19]

• In response to a recommendation that users “zero those sights” on their weapons, another user questioned which ammunition would be best used against law enforcement.

[Reddit, accessed 12/17/19]

• One user wrote that they would “have to finally drop coin on an AR15 and ammo if it's coming to this.”

[Reddit, accessed 12/17/19]

• Another user claimed that “if it’s time to hide your guns, it’s time to use them.”

[Reddit, accessed 12/17/19]

• A user suggested that it was “time for people in Virginia to move or to exercise their second amendment on their government today.”

[Reddit, accessed 12/17/19]

• A user responded to a post about police enforcing proposed gun safety bills by simply writing “cocks shotgun.”

[Reddit, accessed 12/17/19]

• A user wrote that this was “how it begins,” and that it “ends with patriots shooting at an oppressive government and driving them out.”

[Reddit, accessed 12/17/19]

• A user claimed to know “several Mississippians down here that would be willing to help you Virginia patriots out if thinks kick off.”

[Reddit, accessed 12/17/19]

• In response to a comment urging Trump (“45”) to “step in,” a user wrote, “.45 acp maybe,” referring to a popular type of ammunition.

[Reddit, accessed 12/17/19]

• A user wrote in response to the proposed bills that if violence occurs, “that will be the price you'll have to pay for liberty,” adding former President Thomas Jefferson’s quote that “the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”

[Reddit, accessed 12/17/19]

• Another user also cited Jefferson’s quote in response to Northam’s proposed bills.

[Reddit, accessed 12/17/19]

• One user argued, “If they start a war, we need to do what people typically do in a war.”

[Reddit, accessed 12/17/19]

• A user wrote that they “hope” that “every militia in Virginia is getting prepped for war.”

[Reddit, accessed 12/17/19]

• A user wrote that if “they want a war, the patriots in Virginia will give them one.”

[Reddit, accessed 12/17/19]