Approaching four hours after the Capitol Building was overrun by Trumpist insurrectionists, police are finally beginning to move in force, backed by National Guard forces from both D.C. and Virginia. However, at least one improvised explosive device has been located, and many of those currently occupying the halls of Congress are thought to be armed. So it may be some time before the full crowd can be safely removed, and those who invaded the Capitol arrested. Of course, none of this might have been necessary had the Capital Police taken action to halt the terrorists, rather than opening doors for them and sticking around to take selfies with them while making no move to arrest, or even impede, their invasion.
After a year in which police repeatedly treated Black Lives Matter protesters with extreme action, to say these Trump supporters were treated with kid gloves doesn’t come close. Police didn’t even bother to gear up for what they knew would be a large event including members of militia and white supremacist organizations.
And it’s not like the insurrectionists were doing anything bad, like peacefully protesting on a street. They were only attempting to overthrow the U.S. government, take members of Congress hostage, and conduct show trials on the National Mall.
If you wondered how large numbers of terrorists got past the temporary fence police erected on the Capitol steps, here is the answer—they were allowed in.
And if there are questions about how the terrorists were allowed to reach all areas of the Capitol, including the Senate chamber and doors of the House, without being detained, and certainly without being disarmed; there’s also an answer for that. The police played along with them.
Not only did these invaders disrupt the count of the Electoral College vote, disrupting the transition of government, it’s clear they had other intentions. They came prepared to take hostages.
And they had plans for what to do with those hostages when they had them.
The idea of capturing members of Congress and executing them as “traitors” for failing to recognize Trump as the rightful ruler, has been widespread on far right sites since the election. It’s absolutely clear that these people came to the capital with not just the intention of overturning the results of the election, but of conducting show trials and executing those they found inadequate supporters of Trump.
The definition of treason in the U.S. Constitution is constrained to only a few meanings. This easily meets that definition.
No comments:
Post a Comment