The Violent Threats That Made Amazon Drop Parler Are Terrifying

Amazon releases a handful of violent threats Parler users made on the app ahead of the Capitol attack

Parler is a social media site that considers itself a “free speech-driven” space, though it’s really just a place for Trumpers and the extreme right to discuss QAnon theories and make threats on the government without the fear of being banned from a traditional social media app. After it was revealed that far right insurrectionists used Parler to coordinate the attack on the Capitol, Amazon — who, in addition to selling household products and streaming shows, also runs an internet server that basically powers most of the web — dropped Parler from its web-hosting services, essentially rendering Parler out of commission. Now in a lawsuit, Amazon has revealed all the terrifying threats made by Parler users on the app since its inception.

Buzzfeed News reports that Amazon dropped Parler from its web-hosting service, Amazon Web Services, on Sunday night citing a “steady increase in this violent content on your website, all of which violates our terms.”

On Monday, Parler sued Amazon for kicking them off the server and on Tuesday, Amazon hit back with a response that listed out a dozen or so actual threatening posts that individuals made on Parler in the lead up to attack on the Capitol.

“This case is about Parler’s demonstrated unwillingness and inability to remove…content that threatens the public safety, such as by inciting and planning the rape, torture, and assassination of named public officials and private citizens,” Amazon said in their response, obtained by Business Insider.

The threats made on Parler are disturbing, violent, and may be triggering for some. Some of the threats made by Parler users that Amazon included in their response include:

“After the firing squads are done with the politicians, the teachers are next.”

“We are going to fight in a civil War on Jan.20th, Form MILITIAS now and acquire targets.”

“White people need to ignite their racial identity and rain down suffering and death like a hurricane.”

“On January 20 we need to start systematically assassinating #liberal leaders, liberal activists, #blm leaders and supporters, members of the #nba #nfl #mlb #nhl #mainstreammedia anchors and correspondents and #antifa. I already have a news worthy event planned.”

“We are coming with our list we know where you live we know who you are and we are coming for you and it starts on the 6th civil war…if you will think it’s a joke..Enjoy your last few days you have.”

There were also specific death threats made against prominent democrats, Black Lives Matter activists, and tech CEOs.

Parler really grew shortly after Donald Trump lost the election in November and these threats and lead-ups to the Capitol coup were sitting on the site, out in the open, leaving many frustrated that the FBI didn’t investigate or properly defend the Capitol building on the day of the attack. Foreign Policy states that intelligence officials failed to “take right-wing radical agitation seriously.”

Since the events of January 6, more intel has come to light. From these terrifying Parler posts to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s heartbreaking statement that she feared for her life that day to the fact that panic buttons were removed from Representative Ayanna Pressley’s office ahead of the attack — it’s imperative that the FBI take these threats seriously now. These aren’t a bunch of redneck nut jobs, they’re a serious threat to democracy.