A high-ranking Trump official appeared on conservative television this week and made an outrageous call for the people who investigated President Donald Trump to be handcuffed and imprisoned for life. This display of revenge politics is becoming a common theme in Trump’s second term.
Kari Lake, director of the U.S. Agency for Global Media and a longtime supporter of Trump, unloaded her remarks during a segment on Newsmax’s “The Pulse” with David Harris. The conversation shifted to the latest Republican outrage over claims of benefits fraud in Minnesota and the party’s growing attacks on Democratic Governor Tim Walz.
In the midst of that discussion, Lake moved from policy concerns to a more sinister tone. She portrayed Trump’s allies as victims of state power, insisting on punishment not only for them but also for those she sees as Trump’s enemies.
“They dragged Roger Stone out of his house,” she said. “They raided Mar-a-Lago. They attacked President Trump. When are we going to see some handcuffs on some criminals in this country?”
Lake continued by saying those investigators should be “locked up … behind bars for the rest of their lives.”
Her comments carried weight because Lake has moved beyond being just a cable news provocateur; she now leads an agency overseeing U.S.-supported international media outlets that aim to counter misinformation and propaganda abroad.
There’s not a damn person in handcuffs.
They dragged Roger Stone out of his house. They raided Mar-a-Lago. They attacked President Trump.
When are we gonna see some fucking handcuffs on some f—— criminals in this country?
The American people have had it. pic.twitter.com/9xdEduLw8C
— Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) December 31, 2025
Lake is a former news anchor from the Phoenix area who has run unsuccessfully for statewide office in Arizona twice on a Trump-aligned agenda. She gained national attention in the MAGA movement by promoting unproven voting conspiracy theories and lawsuits that failed in court.
Since taking over at the USAGM, she has faced growing controversy over her attempts to reform the agency. Critics accuse her of breaking down a federal institution that has historically represented U.S. policy globally.
Her outburst on Newsmax came as the Minnesota fraud allegations were being weaponized by Republicans, despite reports that complicated the viral claims online. Reuters noted that federal childcare funding to Minnesota was not frozen as some social media posts claimed. Instead, the administration announced stricter reporting requirements nationwide after facing backlash from Walz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
CBS News highlighted that Minnesota’s fraud case involves multiple instances and many charges, with ongoing investigations and prosecutions as the political tension increases.
For Lake, Minnesota was less about policy and more about revenge. She directed her attack not at supposed fraudsters, but at the investigators and prosecutors who pursued Trump and his allies. Her demand was not for accountability; it was for life sentences.
This rhetoric aligns with Lake’s recent pattern of inflammatory comments directed at Trump’s critics. She also attracted attention for claiming, without evidence, that the murder of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk was allowed by “indoctrination camps” on liberal college campuses, a phrase circulating in right-wing media amid rising political violence.
The bigger question raised by her outburst is not whether it will excite her supporters, as it likely will. It’s about the implications of a government official using a national platform to call for life sentences for political opponents while overseeing an agency connected to U.S. messaging about democracy and the rule of law abroad.
