Trump supporter on CNN: 'Riots aren't necessarily a bad thing'

An outspoken supporter of Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump said Wednesday that rioting might be acceptable if Trump is denied the nomination despite winning more delegates than any other candidate. 

"Riots aren't necessarily a bad thing," Scottie Nell Hughes, chief political commentator at USA Radio Networks, said during a CNN appearance.

Hughes, a tea party activist, went onto say that riots could be considered a good thing if people were "fighting the fact that our establishment Republican party has gone corrupt and decided to ignore the voice of the people and ignore the process."

The comment came after Trump delivered a speech on Tuesday night -- following a series of primary victories -- in which he predicted "bad things" if he were denied the nomination.

"I think you'd have riots," Trump said. "I think you would have problems like you'd never seen before."

Trump was alluding to the possibility of a "contested" or "brokered" convention. If a single candidate is unable to reach 1,237 delegates at the end of the nominating process, the nominee will be decided at the GOP convention in July. 

Trump is likely to have the most delegates at that point, but he might be just under the number needed to automatically lock up the nomination. If he doesn't get to 1,237 delegates, there's talk that members of the Republican party will go through the complicated process of a "contested" or "brokered" convention to give the nomination to someone aside from Trump.

Though Hughes talked of riots during her CNN appearance, she also said she knows Trump supporters "would not resort to violence, however they would make sure their voices are heard."

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.