A crowd at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago loudly chanted “lock him up” after former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attacked former President Donald Trump over his legal troubles.
The three-act chant was a new round of “lock him up,” one of the constant refrains of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign against Clinton. Trump frequently incited his supporters with attacks on Clinton’s record as secretary of state, including her use of a private email server, and he vowed to put her in prison.
Clinton, 76, did not respond to the chants. He tried to speak over the crowd as the chanting began. But as the commotion grew louder, he stood on the podium quietly, smiling and nodding until the audience fell silent.
The chants came after Clinton targeted Trump’s legal woes, mocking him for appearing to fall asleep in a Manhattan courtroom this summer during a quiet money trial.
“When he woke up,” he said, “he made his own kind of history: the first person to run for president with 34 felony convictions.”
Then the audience went wild.
A Manhattan jury in May convicted Trump of 34 felony counts of falsifying corporate records, charges of suppressing cash payments before the 2016 election to a porn star who said he had an affair with her.
Trump is scheduled to be sentenced next month. While a prison sentence is possible, legal analysts have said it is unlikely that Trump would receive such a sentence for a non-violent, first-time offense.
Vice President Kamala Harris has tried to quell chants of “lock him up” at Harris-Walz campaign rallies, in what may be an attempt to avoid the fiery rhetoric that flared at Trump events eight years ago.
NBC News has reported that any sign of Harris’ approval could further delay or complicate Trump’s pending federal criminal charges, including special counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 and 2020 election interference cases.
Clinton, who lost to Trump in 2016, roused Democratic delegates in the audience with remarks that poked at Harris’ historic candidacy. “The future is here,” Clinton said to cheers.
“I wish my mother and Kamala’s mother could see us,” Clinton said in a statement that drew sustained applause and a standing ovation. “This is our time, America. This is when we rise up. This is when we break through!”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, said “wow” when Clinton took the stage. Walz’s wife, Gwen, cried during the former first lady’s remarks.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
