(NEW YORK) Red-and-white megaphone in hand, dark glasses on nose, Laura Loomer harasses the “media beasts” — her expression to describe the journalists who surround her outside the courtroom opening Donald Trump's trial. Monday in mid-March.
The far-right influencer vows to return to the same spot every day of the trial to repeat the same message adorning his shirt until the “fake media” exposes the truth.
“Donald Trump has done nothing wrong,” he insists.
A Trumpist activist alleges that the wife of Juan Merson, the judge in charge of the investigation, “actually” worked for New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
“Tell me this isn't a witch hunt. How is this fair to Donald Trump? “, she asks.
At dinner time, Donald Trump will post a video of the scene on Truth Social. Investigators will immediately wonder if he has again breached a strict injunction imposed on him by Judge Merchan, specifically a restraining order against assaulting members of the magistrate's family.
The order will be the focus of a hearing before Judge Merchan on Tuesday, the day after opening statements in Donald Trump's trial. It is punishable by fine and imprisonment for up to 30 days.
and its extension, 1R Last April, it was Laura Loomer whose presence in Donald Trump's orbit worried some of his advisers. Who exactly is she?
“Proud Islamophobe”
Born into a Jewish family in Florida 30 years ago, this protégé of Roger Stone, a longtime confidant of Donald Trump, has already described himself as a “proud Islamophobe.” In July 2017, he took to Twitter to gloat over the drowning of more than 2,000 migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea, most of them Muslims.
A few months later, he posted comments about Muslim drivers on the same social network, which resulted in him being banned for life from ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft. PayPal, Venmo, Facebook and Twitter have also declared their non-personality.
Reinstated by Twitter's successor X, Laura Loomer has dropped her label as an Islamophobe. But he doesn't deny connections to white nationalism. “Yes, I'm for white nationalism,” he said during a 2017 podcast.
But there is a difference between white nationalism and white supremacy, right? Many liberals and left-wing globalist Marxist Jews do not understand that. This country was built as a white Judeo-Christian ethno-state, basically. Over time, all these calls for immigration and diversity are starting to destroy this country.
Laura Loomer
The The New York Times This statement was made in April 2023 in an article that Donald Trump wanted to give Laura Loomer an official role in his presidential campaign. The hiring plan was blocked by the campaign's associate director, the Axios website reported.
But Donald Trump continued to rely on Laura Loomer, rebroadcasting her relentless videos and messages on Truth Social, attacking her favorite targets, from Ron DeSantis to Nikki Haley to immigrants.
Photo by Nicole Krain, New York Times Archives
Laura Loomer outside the Fulton County Jail in Georgia, August 24, 2023
In August 2023, she confirmed her relationship with the Great Replacement conspiracy theorist by hosting him at her golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. “You work hard, you're an opinionated woman, and I have to tell you, I love it,” she announced to her guest, who didn't fail to broadcast a video of her meeting with Donald Trump on X.
At a rally before the Iowa caucuses last January, Donald Trump brought it home by mentioning that Laura Loomer was among the dignitaries in attendance.
“She should be by your side,” he said.
by his side
And Laura Loomer is still on Donald Trump's side in the legal battle in New York. He supported the defendant in his attempt to question Judge Merson's impartiality. She surprised the latter by accusing her daughter, Lauren Merchan, a Democratic consultant, of posting a picture of the former president behind bars on her X account. The court concluded that this was a false account attributed to Loren Merson.
Photo by Seth Wenik, Associated Press Archives
Judge Juan Merson
Donald Trump's publication of Laura Loomer's allegations against Truth Social prompted Judge Merson to extend his gag order. From 1R In April, the former president was barred from assaulting not only witnesses, jurors and prosecutors involved in his trial, but also family members of Manhattan judge and attorney Alvin Bragg.
At Tuesday's hearing, his lawyers must convince Judge Merchan that he did not knowingly violate his gag order in at least ten cases detailed by the Manhattan district attorney's office.
According to Laura Loomer, Donald Trump shouldn't be afraid of being sent to prison. In a post on the question of his criminal immunity.
“I want them to stop Donald Trump so we can watch him raise 100 million dollars overnight and win the election,” he wrote on X.
In November 2023, the same woman said she would happily serve as the president's press secretary after Donald Trump returned to the White House.
