CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Roasts Trump DOJ Honcho to His Face Over Dinner Protesters

Mediaite
Wed, September 17, 2025



CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins took on Trump Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche over his claim that protesters who chanted at President Donald Trump in a restaurant could be prosecuted under racketeering laws.

Trump staged a photo op at Joe’s Seafood in Washington, D.C., to promote his police crackdown earlier this month, but was booed on his way in and out of the restaurant, and accosted by protesters calling him “Hitler” while inside.

During an Oval Office photo op on Monday, Trump suggested the protesters could be prosecuted under RICO statutes.

On Tuesday night’s edition of CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins, Collins interviewed Blanche and delivered several pointed retorts when the deputy AG defended Trump’s assertion:

COLLINS: You were in the Oval Office, when the President was talking about that yesterday. He also talked about racketeering charges. At one point, he referenced the women that were protesting him, at the seafood restaurant, when he was at dinner, the other night, outside the White House.

This is what he said in the Oval, for those who missed it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The people — there were a lot of people in the restaurant. I went there to show how safe, and it was safe. I mean, the woman is just a mouthpiece, or she was — she was a paid — she was a paid agitator, and you have a lot of them. And I’ve asked Pam to look into that in terms of RICO, bringing RICO cases against them — criminal RICO, because they should be put in jail. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: As you know, RICO has been used to go after like al Qaeda, MS-13, the Gambino family. How would something like that protest fall under a RICO charge?

BLANCHE: That’s not what we use RICO for only. RICO is available to all kinds of organizations committing crimes and committing wrongful acts, not just organized crime or ISIS or terrorist organizations. And so, it depends.

So is it, again, sheer happenstance that individuals show up at a restaurant, where the President is trying to enjoy dinner, in Washington, D.C., and accost him with vile words and vile anger? And meanwhile, he’s simply trying to have dinner. Does it mean it’s just completely random that they showed up? Maybe. Maybe.

But to the extent that it’s part of an organized effort, to inflict harm and terror and damage to the United States, there’s potential — potential investigations there. And that’s — that’s what the President was saying, yesterday, in the Oval Office, and what he’s also has said in the days before that as well.

COLLINS: But were those women in the restaurant inflicting harm, or terror, or damage, by protesting the President of the United States? I mean, they were just shouting basically in his vicinity.

BLANCHE: I mean, repeat what you just said. I mean, honestly. So, you’re asking whether there’s damage done by four individuals, screaming and yelling at the President of our United States while he’s trying to have dinner. That can’t be a serious question. That cannot be a serious question. I mean, it’s true that there’s a difference between shouting and committing an assassination–

COLLINS: People can protest the President.

BLANCHE: –committing an assassination, which is what happened to Charlie.

COLLINS: There were supporters outside as well.

BLANCHE: Well it depend — there’s nothing wrong with peaceful protests, and nobody has ever said so. Of all the people in this country, President Trump knows exactly what it’s like, to have people protest against him.

But what he’s talking about, and what the administration is talking about, is organized efforts by individuals, who are not present at the protests, but they’re funding these protests, and they’re not protests. They’re inflicting damage and harm, and actually assaulting officers. They’re damaging vehicles. And that’s the conduct that we’re trying to stop.

COLLINS: Well, I mean, people would argue about the ability to have free speech and to protest the government and criticize the government.

Watch via CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins.

The post CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Roasts Trump DOJ Honcho to His Face Over Dinner Protesters first appeared on Mediaite.


Deputy AG defends Trump’s idea of prosecuting DC protesters

CNN
Wed, September 17, 2025 at 8:31 AM MDT
13



In an interview with CNN’s Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche defended President Trump’s suggestion that protesters who confronted him at a DC restaurant could face criminal charges.

DOJ says Trump protesters could face RICO charges for yelling at him while he was ‘trying to enjoy dinner’

Alex Woodward
Wed, September 17, 2025 

The No. 2 official at the Department of Justice was so aghast at the idea of anti-Trump demonstrators protesting the president while he was “trying to enjoy dinner” that they could face federal anti-racketeering charges that were designed to bust up organized crime.

In recent days, the Trump administration has threatened to prosecute demonstrators and groups that support them as part of a wider campaign against left-wing opposition, raising alarms that it will crack down on dissent by infringing First Amendment rights.

Asked Tuesday how, exactly, a protester could be charged under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told CNN that the law is “available to all kinds of organizations committing crimes.”

“Is it sheer happenstance that individuals show up at a restaurant where the president is trying to enjoy dinner in Washington, D.C., and accost him with vile words and vile anger?” Blanche asked CNN host Kaitlan Collins.

“And meanwhile, he’s simply trying to have dinner,” Blanche continued. “Does it mean it’s just completely random that they showed up? Maybe, maybe, but to the extent that it’s part of an organized effort to inflict harm and terror and damage to the United States, there’s potential, potential investigations there.”

Donald Trump, and top Justice Department officials, have threatened to prosecute anti-Trump demonstrators using RICO statutes designed to break up organized crime (REUTERS)

Collins asked whether those protesters can really be considered “inflicting harm or terror damage by protesting the president of the United States.”

“I mean, they were just shouting, basically, in his vicinity,” she said.

“Repeat what you just said. I mean, honestly. So you’re asking whether there was damage done by four individuals screaming and yelling at the president of our United States while he’s trying to have dinner. That can’t be a serious question,” Blanche fired back.

As Trump entered a restaurant, during a rare visit to a Washington establishment last week after touting his federal takeover of the district, a group of protesters inside the venue shouted “Free DC! Free Palestine! Trump is the Hitler of our time!”

In videos of the protest, the demonstrators got up from their table at Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab and got within feet of the president, who smirked at the group and waved for Secret Service personnel to remove them.

The protesters appeared to be connected with feminist antiwar group, Code Pink.

Trump suggested Monday that Attorney General Pam Bondi would be investigating and labeled the group “paid agitators.”

“I’ve asked Pam to look into that in terms of bringing RICO cases against them — criminal RICO,” he said.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s criminal defense attorney, suggested protesters who interrupted the president ‘trying to enjoy dinner’ could be federally prosecuted (AP)

Blanche’s remarks echo escalating demands from administration officials, right-wing groups and allies to target Charlie Kirk’s critics after his assassination last week, raising baseless claims that the conservative activist’s death is the result of a coordinated effort among left-wing groups to incite violence.

Following Kirk’s death, Trump and right-wing figures have quickly sought to punish left-wing voices for rhetoric they blamed for his killing, with a renewed commitment from the administration to crack down on the “radical left.”

“For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals,” Trump said in a speech from the Oval Office.

“This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now,” he added. “My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it.”

The president said Monday that he may consider naming antifascist groups as domestic terrorists. It remains unclear how the administration could designate “antifa” — a loosely organized movement without a distinct leader — as a terror group.

Trump has also suggested his administration could revoke tax-exempt status for left-leaning nonprofit organizations.

Demonstrations across the country have erupted in response to the second Trump administration’s agenda, including National Guard deployments to cities and immigration enforcement raids (AFP via Getty Images)

Earlier this week, Bondi pledged to go after people who spread “hate speech,” but later appeared to walk back her comments by clarifying that “hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is NOT protected by the First Amendment.”

Between the January 6 insurrection and the 2024 election, there were at least 300 cases of political violence, marking the largest surge in such attacks since the 1970s, according to a Reuters analysis.

Yet a large body of research has found that right-wing extremists have killed more people than those associated with any other political cause in the United States within the last two decades, though many of those attacks don’t map neatly onto one political ideology.

“There’s nothing wrong with peaceful protest,” Blanche told CNN.

“But what [Trump’s] talking about, and what the administration is talking about, is organized efforts by individuals who are not present at the protest but they’re funding these protests, and they’re not protests,” he said. “They’re inflicting damage and harm and actually assaulting officers, they’re damaging vehicles, and that’s the conduct we’re trying to stop.”

Deputy AG Blanche says 'organized' Trump protesters could face criminal investigations

Joey Garrison, 

USA TODAY
Wed, September 17, 2025 

WASHINGTON ‒ Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said people who noisily protest President Donald Trump could face criminal investigations if their actions are tied to organizations that seek to inflict "harm, terror or damage" on the president.

Blanche's Sept. 16 comments came after Trump this week threatened criminal charges against a small group of protesters who angrily shouted at the president ‒ calling him "the Hitler of our time" and chanting "free Palestine" ‒ while he was recently eating dinner at a Washington steakhouse and seafood restaurant.

"Is it sheer happenstance that individuals show up at a restaurant where the president is trying to enjoy dinner in Washington, DC, and accost him with vile words and vile anger? And meanwhile, he’s simply trying to have dinner," Blanche said in an interview on CNN.

"Does it mean it’s just completely random that they showed up? Maybe, maybe. But to the extent that it’s part of an organized effort to inflict harm and terror and damage to the United States, there’s potential investigations there.”

More: Trump officials vow crackdown on left-leaning groups after Charlie Kirk killing


Supporters visit a memorial for Charlie Kirk at the Turning Point Headquarters in Phoenix on Sept. 11, 2025.

The memorial for Charlie Kirk at the Turning Point Headquarters in Phoenix on Sept. 11, 2025.

Even before Blanche's remarks, Democrats and First Amendment advocates had sounded the alarm on free speech in the wake of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk as White House officials vow to target left-leaning organizations that the Trump administration says has promoted violence.

Trump, in Sept. 15 remarks from the Oval Office, accused the protesters of being paid "professional agitators." He said he's asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to explore charging the protesters with crimes under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, which prosecutors often use to target individuals who are part of vast criminal networks.

"I've asked Pam to look into that in terms of RICO, bringing RICO cases against them, criminal RICO, because they should be put in jail," Trump said. "What they're e doing to this country is really subversive."

President Donald Trump, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, and FBI Director Kash Patel listen as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks.

Blanche, in the interview, defended Trump's remarks and pushed back when CNN anchor Kaitlin Collins asked him whether women screaming at the president in a restaurant are truly inflicting "harm, terror or damage."

"You're asking whether there's damage done by four individuals screaming and yelling at our president of the United States while he's trying to have dinner?" Blanche said. "That can't be a serious question."

More: Trump ordered a peace vigil tent near the White House removed: What to know
'Nothing wrong with peaceful protest,' Blanche says

Blanche, who served as Trump's personal attorney prior to joining the administration, said, "There's nothing wrong with peaceful protest." But he sought to draw a distinction with protests that turn into violent confrontations, singling out clashes between protesters and agents with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"What he's talking about and what the administration is talking about is organized efforts by individuals who are not present at the protests, but they're funding these protests," Blanche said. "And they're not protests. They inflicting damage and harm and actually assaulting officers, they're damaging vehicles. That's the conduct that we're trying to stop."

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators react as U.S. President Donald Trump arrives at Joe's Seafood restaurant near the White House for dinner, in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 9, 2025.

Igniting pushback from both the left and the right, Bondi on Sept. 15 vowed the Justice Department intends to target “those who engage in hate speech," even though the First Amendment has widely been interpreted as protecting hate speech.

"There's free speech and then there's hate speech,” Bondi said in an appearance on former White House aide Katie Miller’s podcast, “and there is no place, especially now, especially after what happened to Charlie, in our society.”
Trump to reporter: 'We should probably go after you'

The next day, Bondi walked back those remarks. "Hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is NOT protected by the First Amendment. It’s a crime," Bondi said in a statement. "For far too long, we’ve watched the radical left normalize threats, call for assassinations, and cheer on political violence. That era is over."

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, one of three justices who make up the court's liberal bloc, weighed into the debate over free speech on Sept. 16. “Every time I listen to a lawyer-trained representative saying we should criminalize free speech in some way, I think to myself, `That law school failed,’” she said at event on civic education.

More: God save the queen: Pranksters project giant pic of Trump and Epstein on Windsor Castle

Law enforcement officers shoot non-lethal munitions, as people march as part of the ongoing protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Leah MillisMore

Trump, when asked Sept. 16 about Bondi's remarks about "hate speech," lashed out the reporter who asked the question, Jonathan Karl of ABC News.

"We should probably go after people like you because you treat me so unfairly. It's hate. You have a lot of hate in your heart," Trump said to Karl. "Maybe they'll come after ABC."

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Todd Blanche says 'organized' Trump protesters could be investigated

Opinion

Trump DOJ Lackey Wants to Hit Protesters With RICO Charges

Malcolm Ferguson
Wed, September 17, 2025

THE NEW REPUBLIC



Former Trump impeachment lead counsel and current Representative Daniel Goldman aimed some sharp remarks at Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as his Justice Department seeks to hit CodePink with a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) charge for yelling at President Trump while he was at dinner last week.

Trump called for the protestors to be jailed on Monday via RICO. On Tuesday Blanche told CNN he was happy to oblige.

“RICO is available to all kinds of organizations committing crimes and committing wrongful acts, not just organized crime, or ISIS, or terrorist organizations, and so it depends,” Blanche said Tuesday on CNN when asked to justify treating CodePink like the mob or a terrorist group. “It is again, sheer happenstance, that individuals show up at a restaurant where the president is trying to enjoy dinner in Washington, D.C. and accost him with vile words and vile anger … does it mean that it’s completely random that they showed up? Maybe. But to the extent that it’s part of an organized effort to inflict harm and terror and damage to the United States, there’s potential investigations there.”

Goldman rebuked Blanche’s comments online.

“I charged RICO cases. Yelling at the President is not a racketeering act and cannot be the basis for a criminal charge. @DAGToddBlanche knows better,” Goldman wrote Wednesday morning on X. “He is corrupting the DOJ with ridiculous comments like this.”

This all comes as the Trump administration moves to crack down on free speech as part of a mass disinformation campaign in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing. But to use RICO charges to achieve that is an extreme overreach at best.

Maddow Blog | Trump’s deputy AG eyes federal investigations into ‘organized’ Trump protesters

Steve Benen
Wed, September 17, 2025 
MSNBC

When it comes to Americans engaging in lawful protests, Donald Trump and his team haven’t exactly positioned themselves as champions of the First Amendment. Indeed, the president has spent years trying to delegitimize dissenters, urging the public to see his detractors as “paid protesters,” as if his opponents are inherently inauthentic.

Alas, this isn’t the only example of the Republican’s unhealthy attitude on the subject. In June, Trump announced that anyone who dared to protest a military parade he was excited about would be met with “very heavy force.” Earlier this week, responding to a conservative reporter who said that anti-war protesters near the White House “still have their First Amendment right,” Trump replied, “Yeah, well, I’m not so sure.”

It’s against this backdrop that Politico reported:


The Justice Department’s No. 2 official said Tuesday that people noisily protesting President Donald Trump could face investigation if they’re part of broader networks organizing such activities.

“Is it ... sheer happenstance that individuals show up at a restaurant where the president is trying to enjoy dinner in Washington, D.C., and accost him with vile words and vile anger?” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said during a CNN interview. “Does it mean it’s just completely random that they showed up? Maybe, maybe, but to the extent that it’s part of an organized effort to inflict harm and terror and damage to the United States, there’s potential, potential investigations there.”

Blanche was referring to an incident last week when the president went to dinner at a restaurant near the White House, and during the outing, Trump was confronted with protesters who were quickly removed from the premises.

On Monday, the president told reporters, in reference to what transpired, “I’ve asked [Attorney General Pam Bondi] to look into that in terms of bringing RICO cases against them, criminal RICO.”

So because Trump was met by protesters who shouted at him, the Republican directed the nation’s chief law enforcement officer to explore federal racketeering charges against those who dared to bother him.

One day later, Bondi’s chief deputy at the Justice Department told a national television audience that the hecklers might’ve been part of “an organized effort to inflict harm and terror and damage to the United States.”

At this point, we could talk about the fact that Blanche probably shouldn’t be the deputy AG, given that his only relevant experience is having served as one of the president’s criminal defense attorneys. We could also talk about how Blanche hasn’t exactly covered himself in glory since arriving at Main Justice, as his handling of the Eric Adams and Ghislaine Maxwell cases help demonstrate.

But let’s not miss the forest for the trees. As The New York Times summarized, “President Trump has begun a major escalation in his long-running efforts to stifle political opposition in the United States. ... In the six days since [conservative activist Charlie Kirk] was gunned down in Utah, Mr. Trump and his top officials have promised a broadside against the political left.”

Blanche’s on-air comments weren’t the only element of this broadside, but they were among the most outlandish.