I wrote this 2 days ago.

America has been put in the position of not knowing if any alleged threat against the president is real or was contrived to advance the president's political narrative about a coup and dangerous leftists. We're left without any basis to assess such news. https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1306656698820689923

PS/ My strong inclination is always to seek the simplest explanation in any situation: here, that there was indeed some disturbed person who sent dangerous material to the White House from Canada. My point is that Trump's actions make sober assessment of the situation impossible.

PS2/ Trump has spent months—indeed years—bloviating about imaginary threats against him and his administration. All of them were contrived. He is the Boy Who Cried Wolf a Thousand Times. And now this happens, and America is told it must forget the president's past.

Why, exactly?

PS3/ Something was sent, that's clear. It was equally clear it'd be intercepted. Am I supposed to put past international criminal and epic fraudster Erik Prince—or for that matter Giuliani—winking at an event they knew Trump would immediately use as part of his campaign rhetoric?

PS4/ Again, my point isn't about what I believe—I believe this was an attack—the point is that Trump has created the circumstances under which we *must*, as thinking people, at least experience *doubt* about what may have happened here. And I'm angry at *that*—as Trump caused it.

PS5/ Here's what we must *not* do: *declare* that something was definitely "real" or "fake." I don't know and you don't know—not yet—so we shouldn't pretend we do.

We can say the attack was likely real, but that Trump has made it impossible for us to exclude another possibility.

PS6/ Today is a day when we're talking about the political consequences of lying. Will Lindsey Graham face political consequences—ones he *publicly invited*—for lying? Trump has lied to us 20,000+ times; does that mean our reaction to new claims of a threat will be muted? *Yes*.

PS7/ We can—and *should*—urge exclusively peaceful pre-election protest by anyone opposing the would-be tyrant in the White House. But that's it. Because when Trump weaponizes this event on the campaign trail, you'll immediately see why your response to it has to be wisely muted.

PS8/ What I don't like is anyone making a declarative judgment on this event pre-investigation, *including* decisively calling it fake. That's foolish, intemperate, and unwise. I'm suggesting people reiterate the principle of non-violence and otherwise be responsibly circumspect.

SOURCE/ Having said all that, here (below) is what is known about the event so far. Per usual, any statements of fact by the White House must be discarded. Only material evidence and statements by non-political-appointee members of law enforcement matter. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/19/us/politics/ricin-white-house-postal-service.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur