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Who are #SeditiousSeventeen? Twitter trend emerges as 17 GOP attorneys general try to overturn election results

Earlier, Trump filed a motion with the Supreme Court, asking the nine justices to let him intervene and become a plaintiff in the suit filed on Tuesday by Republican-governed Texas against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin

On Thursday, December 10, the hashtag #SeditiousSeventeen was making the rounds of Twitter. Rick Wilson, the co-founder of the Lincoln Project -- an American political action committee formed in late 2019 by several prominent current and former Republicans with the goal of preventing the reelection of Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election -- tweeted: “If you don't think the #SeditiousSeventeen are on the List, you should think again.”

The Twitter account for The Lincoln Project tweeted, “The #SeditiousSeventeen state AGs should hear from all of us today. Find their contact information in our thread above and let them know what you think about their failure to uphold democracy and the Constitution on behalf of @realDonaldTrump.”

So, who or what are the Seditious Seventeen?

Republican attorneys general in 17 states on Wednesday, December 9, backed President Donald Trump in his desperate legal campaign to reverse the results of the 2020 Presidential election. Earlier, Trump filed a motion with the Supreme Court, asking the nine justices to let him intervene and become a plaintiff in the suit filed on Tuesday by Republican-governed Texas against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

In a separate brief, the AGs for 17 states led by Missouri’s Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt also urged the justices to hear the case. The brief argued that “serious concerns relating to election integrity and public confidence in elections” have surfaced.

The 17 states behind the amicus brief, as per the New York Times, represent a majority of the 25 Republican attorneys general across the country and include Alabama, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Louisiana, and South Dakota. The two Republican attorneys general from Arizona and Georgia, the states that Trump lost, are not part of the brief.

Officials from Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin have reportedly called the lawsuit a reckless attack on democracy. Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican and former attorney general of the state, seemed baffled by the legal maneuver, calling it “extraordinary” and “unprecedented.” He told the New York Times, “I’ve never seen something like this, so I don’t know what the Supreme Court’s going to do.”

On Twitter, another trend began making the rounds, along with #SeditiousSeventeen. It was #BidenWonDonaldLost. Under both hashtags, thousands of people tweeted about how this move was treacherous. One Twitter user said, “I'm thoroughly disgusted by the #SeditiousSeventeen. Bunch of fuc#ing traitors on the far right. And I don't use that term lightly.”

Another Twitter user said, “Remember their names & spread their shame for putting their loyalty to tRump over our democratic system & the will of the people! #SeditiousSeventeen.” While one Twitter user said, “#SeditiousSeventeen You are destroying our democracy & setting the worst example of patriotism. If you lose, cheat & lie to try & win. That is YOU! Your actions here will come with CONSEQUENCES you will personally never forget.”

Biden amassed 306 electoral votes compared to Trump’s 232 in the state-by-state Electoral College that determines the election’s outcome. This was far higher than the necessary 270 votes. The four states -- Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin -- contribute a combined 62 electoral votes to Biden’s total.