DC Unrest Megathread

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

I'm lucky I was doing other things during the past few pages of this thread, otherwise I'd have been banned for sure.

Yeah... I've decided discretion in the better part of valor on this one and been refraining from posting. (After all, by their own actions, Trump and his supporters have proven themselves everything I ever accused them of being, and worse.)

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/BTnewsroom/status/1346927735499796480

Defund the Police.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1346904110969315332

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

From the NBC News liveblog:

Rand Paul: No more objections expected to Electoral College count

No more objections are expected as lawmakers expect to continue the certification process for the Electoral College votes Wednesday, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told reporters.

Both chambers of Congress were in the midst of debate on a GOP objection to the Arizona results when supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol, forcing members of the House and Senate to flee for safety.

Legislators will vote to close debate after they resume, but Paul said he does not anticipate anymore objections to the process. Republican Sens. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, along with other Republican lawmakers, previously threatened to object to election results in some states citing baseless claims of fraud.

I saw another tweet how Hawley is still planning on objecting to Pennsylvania.

If the can get Mitch and enough senators on board, the Senate can (and should) expel him.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1346954970910707712

My God....

Removed for violating Twitter rules. Anyone have a summary?

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Here-s-why-Twitter-won-t-delete-President-15851320.php

One of the tweets called Vice President Mike Pence a coward for not helping Trump illegally reverse his election loss. Another praised the Capitol rioters. And a third was a video message in which Trump falsely claimed that the presidential election was fraudulent before telling rioters to go home.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1346985568937402370

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

There's always a tweet.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1287877621380837378

(Not sure if this one's been posted yet, but figured it couldn't hurt to repost if it had been.)

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://mobile.twitter.com/MichaelGarofola/status/1347084222561882113

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

The video:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1347334804052844550

If he believed a word of what he was saying, this would have ended with his resignation.

Like any antisocial criminal, he's very sorry he got caught, and wishes to escapce or postpone the consequences of his actions. This short stack of lies should avail him nothing. He remains the President who tried to sieze power and incited an assault on the Capitol.

He needs to be removed from office, charged, given a fair trial, and then serve out his sentence. Anything short of that is a betrayal of the United States of America and everything decent it has ever stood for.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

I've found a condensed version of his statement:
/s

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/gregpmiller/status/1347369974860554244

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Saying all Trump supporters support the despicable crap from yesterday is just as bad as saying all Biden voter support looting/rioting and antifa.  The broad generalizations are not fair to either side, so cut the shiit.

Ah, yes. The famous Good Trump supporters.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/jbendery/status/1347390392476565504

(Confirmed on their website.)

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Trump posted to his POTUS account before Twitter took it down:

https://twitter.com/senhorraposa/status/1347718431555149826?s=21

He sounds nice, stable, focused on his duties and not at all like a crazy man who needs to be removed from office.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

These past few days have been surreal. Of all the many things I could have seen going wrong in the future, I never would have guessed that the all-powerful government that fought the War on Terror and dominated the planet would have faced a failed coup.

I mean, it's fun using these words, but there was always a 0% chance this "coup" would actually work.

Even if the mob managed to execute every Democratic member of Congress, Biden would still become president in the eyes of everyone who matters on January 20, and the military and national security apparatus would immediately report to him.

If you think all the levers of power in our country would say "oh, well I guess Trump is still our boss then" just because a mob killed everyone involved in ceremonially ratifying Biden's presidency, you're wrong.

While it was certainly a stupid coup with a very low chance of success, it was a coup attempt and it's not even very hard to see how it could have "worked". (Especially if Mitch and his crew were willing to flip back to supporting Trump no matter what.)

The margin in the House is pretty small. Kill or kidnap (kidnap might be technically better because then they're still in office but not present) a score or so of Democratic representatives. Then the GOP-majority House and Senate reject enough EV's that Biden doesn't get a majority. Election goes to the House, where the GOP-led state delegations choose Trump again.

Would the non-Trump part of the nation accept it? Probably not, but that's a path to civil war, not a path to 'Biden peacefully becomes President'. Remember, we're living in a world where up until a month or so ago, 95% of the GOP backed every single thing Trump did, no matter how foolish or criminal.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/Olivia_Beavers/status/1347957434120351748

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

These Black Capitol Police Officers Describe Fighting Off "Racist Ass Terrorists"

While some of the images from that day appeared to show officers standing by to let the mob into the Capitol building, the veteran officer said that they had fought them off for two hours before the attackers eventually gained access. The officer said that many of the widely spread images of smiling marauders, wandering the halls dressed in absurd costumes, had the effect of downplaying how well prepared some of the rioters were to overtake the building, and even to capture and kill Congress members.

“That was a heavily trained group of militia terrorists that attacked us,” said the officer, who has been with the department for more than a decade. “They had radios, we found them, they had two-way communicators and earpieces. They had bear spray. They had flash bangs ... They were prepared. They strategically put two IEDs, pipe bombs in two different locations. These guys were military trained. A lot of them were former military,” the veteran said, referring to two suspected pipe bombs that were found outside the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee.

The officer even described coming face to face with police officers from across the country in the mob. He said some of them flashed the badges, telling him to let them through, and trying to explain that this was all part of a movement that was supposed to help.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Decoding the extremist symbols and groups at the Capitol Hill insurrection

Flags, signs and symbols of racist, white supremacist and extremist groups were displayed along with Trump 2020 banners and American flags at Wednesday's riot at the US Capitol.

The pictures tell part of the story of the beliefs of some of those who chose to show up on that day -- from passionate and peaceful Trump supporters to extremists who showed their hate with their symbols as well as their actions.

The mixing of the groups is one issue that experts who track extremism and hate have long been concerned about.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Liberals would do well to reflect on this quote by Martin Luther King, there is a lot of truth to it with regard to how many Americans feel.

A riot is the language of the unheard - Martin Luther King

This was an attempted coup though, not a riot.

A coup is the language of the un-catered-to. - Sauron

Now that you've pulled off his disguise, is he going to flee back to Mordor and launch a war to claim by force the dominion he tried and failed to claim by trickery?

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/JenniferJJacobs/status/1348253497813299202

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Going through the social media of rightwingers (including family and community members), none of these people have learned their lessons. They are absolutely hysterical right now, believing a dictatorship of The Left is imminent and we'll be a socialist/communist/Nazi country within a week and a half. A guy who previously was a member of my local Democratic Party (i'm not friends with him, but he popped up in the comments of a mutual friend) and is a police officer has been posting almost nonstop for the past 24 hours the most insane right-wing stuff about how the downfall of America is imminent and we're going to become a totalitarian state.

These people are in full-on psycho mode. They are 100% convinced that the End Times are here or whatever and there is a massive conspiracy against them happening right now. The violence definitely isn't over. I'm genuinely worried about what will happen next week.

I completely believe you, but... what is wrong with these people? Do they not remember 2009, when a Barack Obama, (a "communist Muslim") became President with a Democratic trifecta to take all their guns, and the only major legislative change was... a nationwide Cato Institute health care plan pioneered by Mitt Romney and a some foreign interventions?

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Trespassing and disorderly conduct? Where are the real charges? He didn't find the taser and restraints in some closet in the Capitol - he brought them with him all the way from Tennessee to take prisoners in the Capitol.

Other than illegal gun ownership and maybe "attempted kidnapping" (is that a real crime definition?) what other crimes could you charge them with?

Like I've repeatedly said, trespassing (and I suppose disorderly conduct) are the only crimes where the people who got into the capitol are 99%+ likely to be convicted; but any other crimes have a very low chance of success.

Collective punishment I must imagine would be unconstitutional. And sedition is not generally a crime where "foot soldiers" get charged.

Well, the ones caught on camera (or online) threatening to kill Pelosi or Pence can safely be charged with "making terroristic threats".

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Biden indicating he still plans to follow through with plans for outdoor inauguration.

I respect his courage, but I do worry that he's putting himself at significant unnecessary risk.
The symbolism of a normal inauguration is important, but I think that the optics of an evacuation, or (God forbid) shots being fired towards the Capitol, are far worse.

https://twitter.com/JenniferJJacobs/status/1348702776705114114

An outdoor event, with Biden, Harris and Pelosi, probably plus Democratic members of Congress and no Biden appointees in confirmed yet is a Trump terrorist's dream target. Forget "shots fired". I'm worried about a MAGAt with a bomb. Or a plane. If Biden is going through with this, Harris should be sworn in in advance and in a bunker somewhere else

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Washington Monument closed due to credible threats from Trump supporters.

https://www.nps.gov/nama/learn/management/wamoclose.htm

Pursuant to 36 CFR § 1.5(a)(1) the National Mall and Memorial Parks is implementing temporary closures of National Park Service public facilities, parking areas and roadways in response to credible threats to visitors and park resources. Groups involved in the January 6, 2021 riots at the US Capitol continue to threaten to disrupt the 59th presidential inauguration on January 20, 2021. This includes the set up and execution of inaugural events, which occur in several park areas. In response, the National Park Service will suspend tours of the Washington Monument beginning January 11, 2021 through January 24, 2021 and may institute temporary closures of public access to roadways, parking areas and restrooms within the National Mall and Memorial Parks if conditions warrant, to protect public safety and park resources. These temporary closures may be extended if the conditions persist. The National Park Service will reopen areas as it determines that the conditions of concern are no longer present.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Trump WH declares Biden's inauguration an emergency:
https://twitter.com/JasonLeopold/status/1348792234657808385

To clarify, DC Mayor Bowser did request federal assistance with the inauguration:
https://mayor.dc.gov/release/mayor-bowser%E2%80%99s-letter-us-department-homeland-security-acting-secretary-chad-wolf-regarding

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Trump WH declares Biden's inauguration an emergency:
https://twitter.com/JasonLeopold/status/1348792234657808385

To clarify, DC Mayor Bowser did request federal assistance with the inauguration:
https://mayor.dc.gov/release/mayor-bowser%E2%80%99s-letter-us-department-homeland-security-acting-secretary-chad-wolf-regarding

Is this actually a Bad Thing somehow? I think my views on Trump's well deserving two die in prison are a matter of record, but it seems very emergency declarations through the inauguration date - - anything that helps free up resources and Manpower between now and then -- isn't a bad thing.

If that is what this order means, it is clearly a broken clock moment, but again I'm not sure it's bad in and of itself.

For me the kicker is in the phrasing. (Emphasis is mine.)

"President Donald J. Trump declared that an emergency exists in the District of Columbia and ordered Federal assistance to supplement the District's response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from the 59th Presidential Inauguration from January 11 to January 24, 2021."

He's not acknowledging his attempted coup, the attack on the Capitol, or the terror attacks his supporters are planning. He's saying the "emergency" is Biden's Inauguration.

I expect and hope this is just him being petty; someone told him he had to do this, and he did it as passive-aggressively as possible.