I strongly object when certain media downplay the January 6, 2021, insurrection as a “riot.” A riot is an unorganized, impromptu eruption of violence. There was nothing unorganized or unplanned about Donald Trump’s attempted coup.
In fact, what we know about the scale and scope of this act of civil war grows daily. It is absolutely horrifying the depths of illegality Team Trump went to in an attempt to overturn the free and fair 2020 election in which Trump lost by over 7 million votes. What will be even more horrifying is if Trump and his partners in crime are not sent to prison for treason.
On the morning of January 6, 2021, Donald Trump urged his supporters to descend on the Capitol and stop the certification of Joe Biden as president-elect. Trump was joined by Rep. Mo Brooks, Donald Trump Jr., and personal attorney Rudy Giuliani in encouraging violence.
“Let’s have trial by combat,” shouted Giuliani to the crowd of Trump supporters, conspiracy theorists, and QAnon believers before Trump urged them to march to the Capitol and “fight like hell.”
Once at the Capitol steps, the Trump supporters attacked the Capitol police and broke into the Capitol building where they embarked on a seemingly very organized attempt to delay the certification of presidential votes by Vice President Mike Pence. In fact, the Trump supporters erected a gallows and were prepared to hang the vice president for failing to break the law on Trump’s behalf.
Fortunately, the Capitol police were able to stall the rebel army long enough for the vice president and members of Congress to get safely barricaded with armed guard. In total, over 140 police officers were injured during the insurrection.
Many of the Trump army were armed with pepper spray, zip ties, and blunt instrument weapons – not exactly what your average tourist brings to the Capitol. These traitors who attacked the United States of America did not do so on the spur of the moment, this attack was planned.
We are now learning that the Oath Keepers, a far right-wing paramilitary group, had stockpiled a month’s worth of provisions to delay the certification of the presidential votes. In a nearby hotel, they also had three luggage carts full of guns and ammunition.
The plan that was hatched by controversial Republican attorney John Eastman was to delay the certification of votes until it could be thrown to the House of Representatives to decide based on one vote per state. With 26 Republican states, Eastman predicted Trump would be “elected” over Biden – throwing out the votes of the American people and ending Democracy as we know it.
Since then, we have also learned that Trump, Eastman, Giuliani, Steve Bannon, Mark Meadows and Boris Epshteyn had been huddling together for weeks in private meetings at the Willard Hotel down the street from the White House to plot a way to overturn the 2020 election.
Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers, and 10 of his brothers-in-arms have been charged with seditious conspiracy. This means that the Department of Justice has enough evidence that they feel confident they can prove the events on January 6 were planned.
In fact, if the evidence unearthed thus far is any indication, the attack on the Capitol was only part of a larger plan by Donald Trump and his enablers to overthrow the government.
It has now come to light that Republicans in five states that Biden won have submitted fraudulent certificates of ascertainment – declaring Trump recipient of the state’s 2020 electors. Trump attorney Giuliani reportedly orchestrated the forgeries from the five states, ensuring that they were identical and illegally bore the appropriate state seal.
Important to the investigation into the January 6 insurrection by the bipartisan House Select Committee, the Supreme Court has ruled that Donald Trump does not have authority to assert White House records as privileged. As such the committee will be receiving even more documentation that can be expected to be incriminating.
If Donald Trump took the case all the way to the Supreme Court in an effort not to release these documents, there’s a pretty good chance the information is incriminating. If the historical documents would exonerate him, you’d think Trump would be volunteering them. Similarly, if he were innocent then why is he refusing to appear before the committee? Wouldn’t he want the chance to prove his innocence?
These crimes that have been committed by Trump, Giuliani, Eastman and their accomplices cannot go unpunished. Just because they tried to do it out in the open doesn’t make it any less an act of treason.
I, for one, am looking forward to the House Select Committee hearings on television in the coming months. I want to know each and every person who was involved in this conspiracy. Nobody should be immune from prosecution. Not Trump. Not Giuliani. Not Don Jr.
From what we are hearing from text and phone data that has been subpoenaed so far, there were members of Congress and FOX News personalities aiding Trump. They should not be immune from prosecution either.
Lock them up!
Peace. Love. Trust.
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