How do you explain what happened on January 6? I'm clearly referring to the rally turned mob invasion and occupation of the Capitol, temporarily suspending the electoral vote ratification of Biden's election as POTUS. I don't have any specific knowledge of the rally participants or events; I saw what transpired like most other people, on television. I did publish some tweets, critical of Trump's role in the events, which I considered an impeachable offense. I'll expand on those comments in this post.
Brion McClanahan, a Southern-tradition historian whose videos often appear in my daily miscellany posts, has scoffed at characterizations of the "insurrection", arguing (my words) that this would have to be the sorriest excuse for an insurrection in American history. I think the participants were eager to do what Trump wanted and some of them got caught up in the moment. I'm not sure what Trump wanted the mob to do; he himself probably didn't think it through and have a specific plan or objectives in mind, e.g., capture Congressional leaders and force them to declare Trump the election winner. On the other hand, I don't think that he simply intended a peaceful protest outside the Capitol which lawmakers could ignore and go on with the task of ratifying electoral college results. He clearly intended to intimidate Congress with a show of force--not just in DC, but across the US with his highly motivated minions. I'm also sure he knew that some of his ardent supporters had their own ideas of what they thought he wanted done, that he could plausibly deny but acknowledge with a wink and a nod.
This was, of course, a guy who bragged that he could shoot someone in the middle of NYC without losing his following. He told police they shouldn't be "too nice" with suspects (e.g., rough rides); when Boston supporters pissed on a sleeping homeless Latino and beat him with a metal pipe, he paid lip service they went too far but understood their passion for his anti-immigrant views. He promised to pay for the legal fees of any zealous supporter who assaulted protesters at his events. This is a guy who resisted tooth and nail any attempt to disavow his alt-right or other extremist supporters, notoriously in the aftermath of the Charlottesville tragedy where a car was driven into a group of counter-protesters, killing a woman.
I am not going to review in detail Trump's debunked assertions of election fraud. The facts are, Trump had asserted Vote By Mail fraud from the get-go and refused to abide by any results short of his own reelection, and this is incontrovertibly on the public record. He tried to convince GOP-controlled legislatures in flipped states to ignore certified results under existing state law. He threatened to charge the GOP GA secretary of state with federal crimes if he didn't reverse the state election results. He pressured Mike Pence to refuse electoral votes from flipped states, and when Pence pointed out he had no legal basis to do so, accused Pence of betraying him.
Trump agitated his rally supporters to confront the Congress; there are some reports that Trump resisted efforts to call in the National Guard when violence broke out. It's clear that DoD and the FBI expected trouble:
According to an internal document reviewed by the Washington Post, an FBI office in Virginia issues a warning [Jan5] that extremists are preparing to commit violence in Washington on Jan. 6. According to the bulletin — which Steven D’Antuono, head of the FBI’s Washington field office, said was shared “with all our law enforcement partners” through the joint terrorism task force — “An online thread discussed specific calls for violence to include stating ‘Be ready to fight. Congress needs to hear glass breaking, doors being kicked in, and blood from their BLM and Pantifa slave soldiers being spilled. Get violent. Stop calling this a march, or rally, or a protest. Go there ready for war. We get our President or we die. NOTHING else will achieve this goal.” ... [Jan 6] Sund says he already realizes “things aren’t going well,” that the protesters came with riot helmets, gas masks, pepper spray, fireworks, metal pipes and baseball bats.
Did Trump have specific knowledge of the FBI bulletin and/or other information? Maybe not, at least not provably so from our limited knowledge. But I find it inconceivable he wasn't aware that at least some of his rally minions would be "very passionate" about their feelings over a "stolen election" and wouldn't settle for peacefully picketing outside the Capitol. He was playing with fire, riling up his supporters, and he knew it. I have zero problems with Trump's second (or first) impeachment. He had a constitutional and moral obligation to protect the safety of Congressmen, even if he didn't agree with what they were doing.
There's blood on Trump's hands. At least 4 Trumpkins died, one shot dead by police, and at least 2 Capitol policemen died, with several dozen others injured.
Surely Trump knew that his mob's insurrection was doomed to failure. Why did he allow it to happen? I don't think the man is capable of admitting he lost, especially to Joe Biden. I knew of an older relative who couldn't abide losing a board game and if he couldn't win, he would flip over the gameboard so nobody else could win either. Trump truly believes he's a "victim". If he didn't win, he was determined everyone else would feel his pain. I'm not a psychologist; I can't explain Trump's state of denial.
There has been payback against the rioters, if not by criminal arrest, professional consequences as many have lost their jobs. One Massachusetts healthcare worker got punched by a female cop (apparently reaching for the cop's phone), busting open her nose. Her daughter outed her on social media, and her employer responded by firing her. She now worries that she may be blacklisted on the job market.
As a libertarian I support peaceful assembly, including for Trumpkins. At the same time I oppose violence and property damage. It's sad to see how Trump manipulated his followers, and they are the ones paying the price for misplaced trust in a self-serving political whore.
