Such rhetoric spread within hours to other Telegram communities and social media websites including Trump’s Truth Social platform. Violent groups have pounced on the recent news events to promote themselves, rehabilitate their images and reach new audiences, said Joshua Fisher-Birch, a researcher at the Counter Extremism Project, a nonprofit that tracks such activity online.

“Propagandists are also hoping that federal action will spill over to journalists and those who monitor the extreme right,” he said.