Finally, the threat of violence has not subsided. Some of President Trump’s supporters have said they will return to Washington, D.C. prior to the Inauguration to foment violence: “Many of Us will return on January 19, 2021, carrying Our weapons, in support of Our nation's resolve, to which [sic] the world will never forget!!!”[1] Other reports suggest a proposed second attack on January 17th, along with attacks on state capitols.[2] Federal law enforcement has warned that armed protests are being planned in state capitols in the days leading up to and on Inauguration Day, with groups planning to “storm” government offices.[3] Additionally, Capitol Police have been reported to have briefed lawmakers of three more potential protests at the Capitol in coming days, including one which would involve “insurrectionists forming a perimeter around the Capitol, the White House and the Supreme Court, and then blocking Democrats from entering the Capitol―perhaps even killing them―so that Republicans could take control of the government.”[4]
President Trump has demonstrated that he is unfit to lead and is a danger to the Nation. Instead of trying to stop these attacks, he incited them. Instead of defending the Capitol, he encouraged the breach of its barricades. Instead of condemning the insurrectionists, he praised them. Accordingly, our country can take no chances in the remaining days of President Trump’s Presidency.
- 2. President Trump Has Demonstrated No Remorse Since January 6th
Since the attack on the Capitol, the President has shown no remorse for his role in inciting the violence. President Trump has failed to make any public statement that unambiguously condemns the actions of his supporters in attacking the Capitol—and he has utterly refused to acknowledge his own role in fomenting the insurrection. Instead, insisting to reporters that his speech prior to the insurrection was “totally appropriate.”[5]
Far from it. President Trump’s statements since the events of January 6th have only fanned the flames. That night, after law enforcement had succeeded in clearing many of the attackers, the President excused and even celebrated their criminal actions, declaring them “great patriots” who had “been badly & unfairly treated for so long,” and urging them to “Remember this day forever!”[6] Because this incendiary statement violated Twitter’s standards, the President’s tweet was first flagged and later removed by Twitter, and the President was initially suspended from
- ↑ Matthew S. Schwartz, As Inauguration Nears, Concern Of More Violence Grows, NPR (Jan. 9, 2021).
- ↑ Devlin Barrett et al., FBI focuses on whether some Capitol rioters intended to harm lawmakers or take hostages, Wash. Post (Jan.8, 2021).
- ↑ Aaron Katersky & Celia Darrough, Armed protests being planned at all 50 state capitols, FBI bulletin says, ABC News (Jan. 11, 2021).
- ↑ Matt Fuller, House Democrats Briefed On 3 Terrifying Plots To Overthrow Government, Huff Post (Jan. 12, 2021).
- ↑ Kevin Liptak & Betsy Klein, Defiant Trump denounces violence but takes no responsibility for inciting deadly riot, CNN (Jan. 12, 2021).
- ↑ Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Twitter (Jan. 6, 2021, 6:01 PM) (online and searchable at http://www.trumptwitterarchive.com/archive).
40
