Protestors gathered to demonstrate against the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump as the 47th President of the United States have erected a guillotine in Washington, D.C. The execution device was made infamous in the French Revolution, where it was used to behead the enemies of the radical, far-left Jacobin movement during the Reign of Terror.
“Come get sum” is painted around the neck hole in the guillotine, as a demonstrator holding an LGBTQ flag flanks the device. Other demonstrators can be seen holding Palestinian flags.
While far-left organizations promised to engage in mass protest against Trump’s return to the White House, extreme cold temperatures—along with snow and rain—muted the demonstrations, with only a few hundred gathering in any single instance.
Making threats against the President of the United States is a federal crime under 18 U.S. Code § 871. While the statute applies primarily to written threats, there is precedent for prosecuting verbal threats as well.
A guillotine has arrived at the anti-Trump protest in DC pic.twitter.com/WothLWKfNF
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) January 20, 2025