There are many things that can be said about yesterdays ‘insurrection’ at the US Capitol building. These are some of them.
Rough Timeline: Firstly the protestors started knocking the fences down at about 1:00 p.m. At about 1.20 Trump arrives back at the White House – some say his security detail said they could not protect him at the protest. He watches the riot on live TV. 1:34 pm Mayor Bowser of Washington, DC requests assistance from Secretary of Army. About 1.40 demonstrators break into the House. The Senate and House chambers were evacuated at 2:30 p.m, about the same time the Washington Mayor orders a 6pm Curfew. At about 3.40pm the National Guard arrives (?). Crowds start dispersing around 5 pm. About 8 pm, Capitol police declared the building secure. At 8.15 pm the House starts working again.
1) “Trump Media”
Parts of the Trump media and media groupings (One America Network, Parler, 4 chan, Q-Anon, Brietbart, Newsmax), after supporting Trump’s fake claims of election fraud, and calls for insurrection, are now saying things like “we all know Republicans don’t riot, consequently the rioters were not Republicans and the whole thing was a false flag operation”. The rioters were busloads of Antifa.
There is no evidence of antifa involvement and, even if there was, it does not give us new evidence about who was calling for the events, and who was cheering the events on. This includes those who are now claiming they had nothing to do with it, which appears to include those Republican members of Congress who were trying to overturn the election results, while depending on the election results for their own seats.
This is simple cowardice. Childlike cowardice. They could say, “I made a mistake and don’t like the results of that mistake,” or they could stand with the people they encouraged. But these people decide to hide their encouragement of violence behind blaming their opposition, or saying they suddenly came to understand what Trump was like.
By trying to blame others they at least show they recognise there is a problem they don’t want to be associated with. Interestingly even the leader of the Proud Boys supposedly announced ahead of the march:
“We will not be wearing our traditional Black and Yellow. We will be incognito and we will spread across downtown DC in smaller teams,… And who knows….we might dress in all BLACK for the occasion [like Antifa],” Mr. Tarrio posted on the social media service Parler. “The night calls for a BLACK tie event.”
Proud Boys leader says members will be ‘incognito’ for next pro-Trump protest in D.C. Washington Times, 29 December 2020
We can presume they wanted to hide and not be held responsible, although Tarrio later apparently said or wrote: “Proud Of My Boys and my country….”Don’t ****ing leave.”
Those who need to know, know they were involved.
2) Trump himself
From the wandering speech made directly before the riots, it is not clear what Trump wants, except to complain that he could not have lost because of statistics and fake claims, and that Mike Pence could fix it up by decree. [See endnote].
During the riots. Trump tweeted [Times on these tweets are from storage and not local times, the one immediately below is apparently from 2.24 pm during the riots.]:
More or less immediately after the Riots, Trump tweeted:
[And in case the tweet copy gets deleted:
These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!
twitter Jan 6 – see also Fox News and Forbes
So Trump defended his supporters for a while. Trump later claimed that violence was not what he wanted and that we should seek peace together.
My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power.
This moment calls for healing and reconciliation…..
We must revitalize the sacred bonds of love and loyalty that bind us together as one national family.
Donald Trump Concedes Election, Condemns Rioters Video Speech Transcript January 7. Rev 7 January
Trump has never seemed to want peace before, other than the peace of everyone submitting to himself. It is however, reasonably possible to suggest that he did not think his speech would be followed by the events which followed it; that, for him, the march on the Capitol was purely a game for him. However it is equally possible he deliberately tried to engineer deniability, and he will keep feeding and inciting rage, while pretending not to.
Personally I think he is stabbing his supporters in the back because he does not want to loose the benefits and salary of an ex-President if he should be suspended or impeached, but who knows? Anyway, the point again is he could say, “I made a mistake and I’ve changed my mind”, or he could stand by his supporters and what he has been encouraging them to do since the last election or earlier, or even say he was surprised at how people reacted, but no, its all their fault. I suspect he will soon be telling us it was all the Democrats’ fault. For Trump, it seems like it is always someone else’s fault.
For those who wonder if the President would throw his supporters, workers and creditors under the bus, for personal advantage, just look at his career. This is what he has done his entire life. This and continuous falsehood, are his distinguishing marks, even for people in politics and business.
He has also refused to attend the inauguration. This is one way of making peace… but attending would show that he might put his own resentments on one side, and thus encourage his followers to do so as well – but that would not give him any political advantage, he needs to keep hatred going to have any chance of influence or another shot at the Presidency.
While so far it is rumour and third hand reports, so this paragraph will possibly be changed, there is some evidence to say that:
- Trump watched the riot on live TV (was there live TV coverage?)
- He did tweet about Mike Pence’s failure to steal the election for him
- He ignored calls from Republicans trapped in the House
- He only tweeted against the riots when it was clear they had not achieved any of their aims, beyond occupation.
If so, then we may assume that Trump did seek violence to change the election result and intimidate people in the House.
Mitch McConnell is reported as saying, after he helped acquit Trump,:
There’s no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day… The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president… He did not do his job. He didn’t take steps so federal law could be faithfully executed and order restored… No. Instead, according to public reports, he watched television happily — happily — as the chaos unfolded… Even after it was clear to any reasonable observer that Vice President Pence was in serious danger.
Sprunt After Voting To Acquit, McConnell Torches Trump As Responsible For Riot. NPR 13 Feb 2021
What Trump does not appear to have done is even more significant. He did nothing to help organise a response. He did nothing to calm the situation down. He appears to have made no protest against what was happening while it was happening – and this is especially notable if he was watching on live TV.
It does not seem unreasonable to see Trump’s first public comments on Jan 12, as directed towards his riotous supporters as they defend the wall with Mexico, which seems to be a defense against illegal immigrants and emphasises the race issue. “We completed the wall,” he says which does not seem to be true, and he more or less admits is not true in the next line “They may want to expand it. We have the expansion underway.” But then:
We’re stopping a lot of illegal immigration. Our numbers have been very good. There does seem to be a surge now because people are coming up. So caravans are starting to form because they think there’s going to be a lot in it for them, if they’re able to get through, but we’re able to stop it
Donald Trump’s First Comments Since Capitol Riots: Says He Wants “No Violence”, Rev.com 12 January 2021
Then he implies the violence is against him, and that impeachment could lead to violence:
we want no violence, never violence. We want absolutely no violence. And on the impeachment, it’s really a continuation of the greatest witch hunt in the history of politics. It’s ridiculous. It’s absolutely ridiculous. This impeachment is causing tremendous anger as you’re doing it. And it’s really a terrible thing that they’re doing. For Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer to continue on this path, I think it’s causing tremendous danger to our country and it’s causing tremendous anger. I want no violence.
Donald Trump’s First Comments Since Capitol Riots: Says He Wants “No Violence”, Rev.com 12 January 2021
And the riot had nothing to do with him, all the fault of other people:
if you look at what other people have said, politicians at a high level, about the riots during the summer, the horrible riots in Portland and Seattle and various other places. That was a real problem, what they said, but they’ve analyzed my speech and my words and my final paragraph, my final sentence. And everybody to the T thought it was totally appropriate.
Donald Trump’s First Comments Since Capitol Riots: Says He Wants “No Violence”, Rev.com 12 January 2021
His later speech was almost entirely about keeping illegal aliens out, and could be seen as a shout out to the ‘mob’. So he will almost certainly continue.
3) The Really Thin Blue Line
The Capitol was badly defended. There were hardly any police, and the national guard was not called in until way too late – apparently a guy Trump appointed to the job refused to let them be called in. In Washington DC the mayor does not command the National Guard, the President does. The guard eventually arrived because Republican and Democrat members of the house arranged it? (This is all very complicated, but see this timeline, which may or may not be accurate. The then chief of the Capitol Police, Steven Sund, “says he requested assistance six times ahead of and during the attack on the Capitol. Each of those requests was denied or delayed”). Trump tried to take credit for their arrival, but this does not seem to be accurate.
Many people ([1], [2], [3], [4] more could be given) have compared the thin lines of police with the heavy lines of police who faced Black Lives Matter protestors. and who seemed relaxed about using heavy violence to control and clear BLM protestors even if it was just for Presidential photo-ops. The police for the Trump protest seem to have been vastly outnumbered and under armed – I’ve seen videos of a few US police trying to hold back protestors with waist high portable fences, fists (!?) and no back-up. They had no hope against these white rioters.
I also read that 60 police where hospitalised with injuries and one police officer more or less definitely received deadly injuries from a thrown fire extinguisher. Video suggests one policeman was pulled down some stairs and beaten and kicked. One of the people beating him was using a flag pole with a US flag on it, and the crowd shouted “USA, USA”. Comments by Police Chief Contee also suggest rioters used pepper spray on the police. The police were not initially using tear gas and some had no gas masks. Pipe bombs and Molotov cocktails were also apparently found near the building outside the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee [5], [6].
This is where supporting people who claim to support the police, while they are suppressing others, gets you.
4) Police Complicity?
Some people say the police let the rioters in, and posed with rioters for selfies. This could be a cunning way of both getting photo ID of the perps, and/or avoiding being beaten up. There are pictures of police (or security guards) quietly standing by as occupiers walk past them. Perhaps some police where more gentle than people on the Left might expect them to be from their experience, and got out of the way, but this is not the same as deliberately letting people in.
If there was an inside job, it probably came from those people who ignored weeks of noise and warnings [7], [8], [9] and put in a thin blue line and blocked the National Guard. If you want to blame anyone, then blame the Trump Administration. They made the appointments and preparations. This obvert lack could also seem like pre-meditation.
5) Security Chaos
The failure of the police meant the Capitol was defended by security officers who had been trained to shoot terrorists and assassins. It is no wonder one person was shot, and amazing that more were not killed. Three of the four protestors who died are currently said to have died of medical complications. One was possibly crushed to death in the crowd.
The security at the Capitol was surprisingly low key. It appears to advertise that if any real and moderately competent terrorist organisation had wanted to, they could have invaded and shot up Capitol Hill without problem.
6) Lack of Revolutionary Aims
The rioters seemed to have no idea what to do when they achieved their aims. Some people have said they were going to burn the electoral college votes, but they failed to do that, and there is no evidence that was an aim shared by the majority of people – any more there is evidence the pipe bombs were the work of many people. While burning the votes might have been a great piece of symbolism, it would achieve nothing. There was no attempt to seize centres of power, to control the airwaves or barricade themselves in, or even bring automatic weapons into the building.
Most of the rioters seemed happy enough to frolic around, break into offices, steal souvenirs and pose for photos. This was not a crowd of organised revolutionaries. I’m not sure they can be called terrorists either, despite the Federal Code of Regulation definition that terrorism is:
the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof and furtherance of political or social objectives
As quoted by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser Press Conference Day After Capitol Riot Transcript January 7
Discontents is probably better. If it were not for the injured cops this might have been disorderly ‘fun’.
On the other hand, some people wore neo-nazi symbols and apparently called for the execution of Mike Pence (who knows how seriously) for not obeying Trump’s call to neutralise the result. People have alleged there were plans to capture Nancy Pelosi, but the evidence seems conjectural at this moment. However, Neo-Nazis reportedly boasted they were there, and the Proud Boys reputedly sent out a message saying:
For several hours, our collective strength had politicians in Washington in absolute terror. The treacherous pawns (cops) were also terrified…
The system would have you believe that you are alone. That’s why they want to ban all ‘radicals’ from social media. They want you to feel alone. But the truth is that you are not alone. We are everywhere.
Things will get difficult soon but don’t lose heart. We are growing and our unity will terrify the evil elites running this nation.
Proud Boys Boast About Politicians ‘in Absolute Terror’ During Capitol Raid. Newsweek, 7 January.
So some people had ambitions, perhaps after the event. The FBI says ‘Antifa’ does not seem to have had much if any presence. Earlier reports claiming this was not the case have since been discredited.
So let us be clear about this. Mainstream people on the Right are blaming a group for the riots, who almost certainly were not there, while ignoring right wing extremists who certainly were there, who are claiming responsibility for the occupation and the violence, and who are promising more of the same.
And these same people want unity and no prosecution of Trump for anything? Some of them because they fear what might come next. This again is cowardice, and indicates the possible take over of the Republican party by fascists.
7) Spread
The event was not confined to the Capitol in Washington. There were similar, generally peaceful, if less successful, protests across the country: in Arizona (which involved breaking glass and a guillotine), Colarado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and probably elsewhere. It is notable that many people were also protesting against coronavirus lockdowns and did not wear masks. So we can see this movement as a spreader event. Perhaps deliberately to generate more chaos for the new Administration to deal with, but more probably to do with disbelief.
With the Internet it is not necessary for there to be an organising body, but apparently the main event was organised by “Women for America First” and it allegedly involved people from the Presiden’ts 2020 campaign. When asked the Trump Campaign apparently said
We did not organize, operate or finance this event. No campaign staff was involved in the organization or operation of this event. If any former employees or independent contractors for the campaign worked on this event, they did not do so at the direction of the Trump campaign.
Trump allies helped plan, promote rally that led to Capitol attack. ABC NEWS (America) 9 January
As you would expect, they avertised the event to their followers, through twitter and facebook. For example:
and
Women for America First announced:
We are saddened and disappointed at the violence that erupted on Capitol Hill, instigated by a handful of bad actors, that transpired after the rally
Trump allies helped plan, promote rally that led to Capitol attack. ABC NEWS (America) 9 January and “Statement on Violence at the Capitol”
And did the expected blame shifting, it’s got nothing to do with them and everything to do with people they don’t like:
Unfortunately, for months the left and the mainstream media told the American people that violence was an acceptable political tool. They were wrong. It is not.
Trump allies helped plan, promote rally that led to Capitol attack. ABC NEWS (America) 9 January and “Statement on Violence at the Capitol“
Apparently, no one ever listens to the right wing media…
The Women for America First website with the statement on it seems to have disappeared. Other people involved in the event appear to have included: “Stop the Steal,” “Wild Protest.com” “Turning Point Action,” “Rule of Law Defence Fund,” “Tea Party Patriots,” Eighty Percent Coalition”, not to mention “Proud Boys”, “Three Percenters” and the like – who do seem to have some familiarity with threatening violence.
Some allege that some of the misinformation and promotion of violence came from ‘big oil’ and those who promote climate denial [10], [11] which, if correct, shows how terrified they are of even the minor climate efforts Biden has promised to make. It is true, that Trump would have kept subsidies and profits up for a while longer if he ‘won,’ and fossil fuel companies have never shown much concern over democracy.
Fear is also part of the spread of misinformation. One Republican Representative is reported as saying:
“One of the saddest things is I had colleagues who, when it came time to recognize reality and vote to certify Arizona and Pennsylvania in the Electoral College, they knew in their heart of hearts that they should’ve voted to certify, but some had legitimate concerns about the safety of their families. They felt that that vote would put their families in danger,”
Amash’s Successor Peter Meijer: Trump’s Deceptions Are ‘Rankly Unfit. Reason 8 January 2021
If true, this is fascism in action again, and not being denounced.
8) Fantasy
The following report may not be accurate, but while some protestors were disappointed in Trump, and his failure to produce evidence for the “storm” that many people on the Right had been expecting and inciting for so long (when the deep state Satanist pedophiles would be arrested and charged), some of the rioters or riot supporters claim that Trump’s apparent backdown is a deep fake video, or perhaps:
“He has a plan here President Trump would not back down that easily… We need to stand strong, keep watch and pray. Something big is coming and Gid [God] is going to see it through.”
“Trump did not concede. He used language to buy a little extra time because the senators and congressmen who support him are being threatened with dirty bombs and their families’ lives by the Deep State and/or communist Chinese … I have it on good grounds that Trump will be moving with the military And regarding the transition to a new administration, means Trump with a new VP Pence is obviously a traitor and is ‘fired’”
Donald Trump fans cry betrayal as he rebukes Capitol violence. The Guardian, 8 January 2021
If the Storm has not happened by now, we can assume it will never happen, and would never happen.
9) It is not Necessarily ended
Some have compared this event to the Munich Beer Hall putsch of 1923. Hitler’s failed attempt to take over Bavaria. From that event we learn that Hitler was no brave war hero, but he came back some years later and produced a lot of death. The point of the comparison is just to remind us that failure does not always mean that a movement is ended. Ten years from now, maybe Trump or someone like him will succeed in inspiring people who feel displaced and take over the government.
If politicians get the message that these people (like most people) cannot be controlled and selling one’s soul (for power) to a proto-fascist is not a good deal, then something has to change. The problems faced by real people trying to live in neoliberal America have to be taken seriously and people have to feel that government is something they can participate in without needing force. Neoliberalism has to go, because this is where it leads.
However, Republican leaders are generally not condemning either the rioter’s or their party’s association with neo-fascism and white supremacy, never mind putting the wealthy first. Hence we can assume they are happy to go along with things as they are. This increases the likelihood of that party being taken over by those forces and being used by those forces, just as QAnon appears to have tried to use Trump for its purposes, through the cultivation of fantasy and resonance.
The information mess of information society, is another problem. Propaganda is effective, and can easily promote these kind of events and this kind of resentment. Fascism is easy, not impossible because of some national spirit. It can happen anywhere. We somehow need to establish a truth which can be shared amongst all, but fascist propagandists seek a truth that splits and makes the acceptors superior. Or perhaps we need to establish a more general, non-directed skepticism. I don’t know a solution, but an approach is needed.
10) Election Inquiry?
Personally I would go for an independent open and public inquiry into the Election process. It would include all the alleged events that Trump mentions. This would allow them to be refuted in public. It would also include: investigation into Gerrymandering; voter suppression; refusals to have enough pre-poll booths; attempts to crush mail-in voting through sabotaging the post office or any other way; intimidation or attempted bribery of electoral officials and workers; the apparently deliberate delays in voting in certain areas; explanations about the way voting trends can change; and so on. It perhaps should investigate the rules around the electoral college or the consequences of its abandonment. It perhaps should recommend a public holiday to make voting possible for many people. It would have the power to charge the ex-President, and anyone else with offenses before a court, if they should be demonstrated. It should also consider making Washington DC, and Puerto Rico into States for electoral purposes. If people say this should not happen because Republicans would never win without restricting the vote, then let them think about their commitment to democracy or lack of useful policies.
Endnote: Trump Administration Speeches
Trump’s big speech before the riot, starts as it goes on.
This was not a close election. I say sometimes jokingly, but there’s no joke about it, I’ve been in two elections. I won them both and the second one, I won much bigger than the first. Almost 75 million people voted for our campaign, the most of any incumbent president by far in the history of our country, 12 million more people than four years ago. I was told by the real pollsters, we do have real pollsters. They know that we were going to do well, and we were going to win. What I was told, if I went from 63 million, which we had four years ago to 66 million, there was no chance of losing. Well, we didn’t go to 66. We went to 75 million and they say we lost. We didn’t lose.
By the way, does anybody believe that Joe had 80 million votes? Does anybody believe that? He had 80 million computer votes. It’s a disgrace. There’s never been anything like that. You could take third world countries. Just take a look, take third world countries. Their elections are more honest than what we’ve been going through in this country. It’s a disgrace. It’s a disgrace. Even when you look at last night, they’re all running around like chickens with their heads cut off with boxes. Nobody knows what the hell is going on. There’s never been anything like this. We will not let them silence your voices. We’re not going to let it happen. Not going to let it happen….
if Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election. All he has to do. This is from the number one or certainly one of the top constitutional lawyers in our country. He has the absolute right to do it. We’re supposed to protect our country, support our country, support our constitution, and protect our constitution. States want to revote. The States got defrauded. They were given false information. They voted on it. Now they want to recertify. They want it back. All Vice-President Pence has to do is send it back to the States to recertify, and we become president, and you are the happiest people.
Donald Trump Speech “Save America” Rally Transcript January 6. Rev 6 January
Despite being full of falsehood, denunciation of the election result, and self praise (he “had to beat Oprah, [who] used to be a friend of mine”), the speech does not seems to be a direct incitement to riot. There is little to no evidence for his impeachment on those grounds here [although see this analysis, which I think its a bit strained]. Indeed Trump said:
I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard….
we’re going to the Capitol and we’re going to try and give… [ellipsis in original to indicate change of track] The Democrats are hopeless. They’re never voting for anything, not even one vote. But we’re going to try and give our Republicans, the weak ones, because the strong ones don’t need any of our help, we’re going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.
So let’s walk down Pennsylvania Avenue.
Donald Trump Speech “Save America” Rally Transcript January 6. Rev 6 January
He did not walk with them, although it is not clear why. Perhaps he wanted to be elsewhere if violence broke out – it would be safer for him. The only overtly but vague instruction for riot he gave was:
I said, “Something’s wrong here. Something’s really wrong. Can’t have happened.” And we fight. We fight like Hell and if you don’t fight like Hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.
Donald Trump Speech “Save America” Rally Transcript January 6. Rev 6 January
This could easily be defended as a figure of speech. The violence, seems to have been plotted beforehand, and not at the speech. Trump may have been simply a focus for other people to make that move – perhaps this is something he wanted to take advantage of, but not be directly involved in.
During the riot he tries to steer both sides, those of the rioters and those who were not impressed by the riots:
I know your pain. I know you’re hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election, and everyone knows it, especially the other side, but you have to go home now. We have to have peace. We have to have law and order. We have to respect our great [pause] people in law and order. We don’t want anybody hurt. It’s a very tough period of time. There’s never been a time like this where such a thing happened, where they could take it away from all of us, from me, from you, from our country. This was a fraudulent election, but we can’t play into the hands of these people. We have to have peace. So go home. We love you. You’re very special. You’ve seen what happens. You see the way others are treated that are so bad and so evil. I know how you feel. But go home and go home at peace.
Trump Video Telling Protesters at Capitol Building to Go Home: Transcript. Rev 6 January and Facebook
This is a line made clear by his press secretary Kayleigh McEnany as well.
What we saw yesterday, was a group of violent rioters, undermining the legitimate First Amendment rights of the many thousands who came to peacefully have their voices heard in our nation’s Capitol. Those who violently besieged our Capitol, are the opposite of everything this administration stands for.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany Press Briefing on Capitol Riot Transcript
This massive backdown, implies either cowardice or that he was being used by other more competent people for their own purposes, to start something off, or to be a figurehead. QAnon seems to be that kind of movement, as the President seemed to make little use of it, or have little familiarity with its arguments and misinformation, even when it would have been useful for him. This probably means ‘Q’ not only does not have many ties with the President, but probably not with the Republican Party itself. This again makes impeachment hard.
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