During the 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump did more than 100 threats to investigate, prosecute, imprison or otherwise punish their perceived enemies, including political opponents and private citizens.

Now, many of his targets are bracing for the possibility that the president-elect will adopt an agenda of “retribution,” as Trump put it.

“It would be naive and stupid of anyone not to take this seriously,” said Mark Zaid, a lawyer who represents several people threatened by Trump. “We need to prepare as much as we can for what may come.”

Zaid has represented many current and former government officials working on national security — people Trump often describes as members of the “deep state” to undermine his agenda. Zaid also represented one whistleblowerthat raised concerns about Trump’s interactions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelynsky in 2019. That whistleblower’s revelations helped lead to Trump’s first impeachment and infuriated the former — and future — president.

When Trump won the 2024 presidential election, Zaid said, he knew he needed to connect with his customers.

“A lot of it is to get people ready. Secure lawyers, CPAs, secure finances, things like that,” Zaid said. “Even being out of the country under the most extreme circumstances.”

People have more options to fight politically motivated charges if they are abroad, Zaid said. So in some cases, he has encouraged his clients to take a vacation abroad around the inauguration.

Zaid said he recognizes that leaving the country may sound extreme in the face of the incoming Trump administration. And he hopes those steps won’t be necessary.

“It’s kind of like we know the hurricane is coming on Saturday,” Zaid said. “So we’re going to make sure we have enough food and water to ride out the storm. We just don’t know, unfortunately, how long that storm will last.”

And while the Trump administration is not pursuing criminal investigations of its enemies, Zaid said he is concerned about the possibility of politically motivated IRS audits and firings of government employees.

He is not the only one worried about Trump’s threats. Several sources declined to comment for this story, worried that speaking out now would make them a target.

Trump’s announcement that he would nominate Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida for attorney general has only deepened those concerns.

Gaetz is widely seen as a pro-MAGA hardliner and Trump loyalist. He actively supported Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and beyond called for criminal investigations of Trump critics, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey. On social media, he has said he would “abolish” agencies like the FBI, which he would oversee as attorney general.

Gaetz’s nomination “seems to reflect an intent to make good on the threat of retaliation,” said Mary McCord, a former federal prosecutor who served nearly 25 years at the Justice Department.

Still, McCord said she believes most career Justice Department officials will resist efforts to pursue purely political charges.

“He can direct his Justice Department to bring prosecutions, and if they’re baseless, I think there would be career prosecutors saying, ‘this is baseless,'” said McCord, who is now executive director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law. “There may be some opportunists who want to use the moment to make a name for themselves and maybe move up in the department, maybe even get a political appointment, hitch their wagon to Donald Trump. But I don’t think that’s the vast majority.”

Regardless, even the threat of prosecution can have a chilling effect. And investigations, let alone prosecutions, can cause enormous stress and cost their clients hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees.

Trump’s office did not respond to NPR’s request for comment on this story and questions about whether the administration plans to prosecute political opponents. Trump repeatedly promised to appoint a “special prosecutor” to investigate President Joe Biden and Biden’s family during his first day in office. At other times he has said “my revenge will be successful.”

Some of the president-elect’s allies have been vocal in pushing for impeachment.

Steve Bannon, who helped run Trump’s first presidential campaign and served as his chief White House strategist, has called for the indictment of special counsel Jack Smith, Dr. Anthony Fauci and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, among others. .

“You deserve what we call rough Roman justice, and we’re prepared to give it to you,” Bannon said in a live stream on election night.

Mike Davis, a far-right lawyer close to the Trump team who previously clerked for US Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, threatened New York State Attorney Letitia James.

James filed a civil lawsuit against Trump alleging extensive business fraud.

“I challenge you to try to continue your legal action against President Trump and his second term,” Davis said in a podcast. “To listen here, honey, we’re not messing around this time and we’re going to put your fathead in jail for conspiracy against rights. I promise you that.”

The New York Attorney General’s office did not respond to a message seeking comment.

As for Trump himself, just days after the presidential election, he posted online about rumors that he might consider selling shares in his social media company, Truth Social.

“I hereby request that the persons who have started these false rumors or statements, and who may have done so in the past, be immediately investigated by the appropriate authorities,” he wrote.

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