Trump Calls for Political Opponents to be Jailed in Speech at Justice Department Headquarters

President Donald Trump delivered a speech at the Justice Department headquarters on Friday, defending his allies and calling for his perceived political opponents to be jailed.

Trump praised U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who helped dismiss his classified documents case, calling her a "brilliant" judge. He condemned "horrible human beings" whom he accused of disparaging Cannon.

Trump also repeated his false claims of a rigged election in 2020. He said, "What a difference a rigged and crooked election had on our country, when you think about it. And the people who did this to us should go to jail. They should go to jail," he said, without specifying anyone by name.

Trump also said, "Our predecessors turned this department of justice into the department of injustice," adding that he would "insist upon and demand full and complete accountability for the wrongs and abuses that have occurred."

Trump's remarks are not the first time he has called to imprison his political opponents. But the venue of his speech — delivering the remarks at the Justice Department to a room full of its top officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel — demonstrates how his previous campaign threats of vengeance and retribution have taken on significantly higher stakes now that he wields the enormous power of the presidency.

Trump noted the significance of his remarks at the Justice Department, on Friday becoming the third president this century to deliver a speech at the agency's headquarters.

"I was asked to do it, and I said, 'Is it appropriate that I do it?' And then I realized it's not only appropriate, I think it's really important, and I may never do it again," Trump said. "I may never have another chance to do it again, because this is something that I'm leaving to the greatest people I know, the best people, the smartest people, the toughest people I know, and they're going to do an incredible job."

When Trump finished his speech, a mainstay of his campaign rallies, the song "Y.M.C.A.," played over the speakers inside the Justice Department's Great Hall.