Throughout this period, it was widely reported and well known that President Trump’s attacks on election officials had sparked threats, intimidation, and actual violence.[1] Following President Trump’s attacks on Michigan’s election process, armed supporters surrounded the home of the Michigan Secretary of State; after President Trump’s attacks on the election in Arizona, his supporters surrounded the home of the Arizona Secretary of State and chanted, “We are watching you!”; after President Trump targeted the election outcome in Georgia, state election officials received a wave of death threats.[2] On December 1, as described above, Gabriel Sterling (who voted for Trump) warned President Trump that his incendiary rhetoric could mean that “someone’s going to get killed.” Yet President Trump not only refused to condemn any of this dangerous and threatening conduct; as detailed above, he also escalated his inflammatory and militaristic demands. That trend was matched by escalating violence. On December 12, for instance, clashes between Trump supporters and law enforcement and counter protestors at the “Second Million MAGA March” resulted in dozens of arrests and several stabbings, and at least one leader of the Proud Boys was later arrested for vandalizing a church.[3]
Given all that, the crowd which assembled on January 6 unsurprisingly included many who were armed, angry, and dangerous—and poised on a hair trigger for President Trump to confirm that they indeed had to “fight” to save America from an imagined conspiracy. Answering to the President’s call to mobilize, thousands arrived in Washington for the purpose (aggressively
- ↑ Michael Wines, Here Are the Threats Terrorizing Election Workers, N.Y. Times (Dec. 3, 2020).
- ↑ Nick Corasaniti et al., As Trump Rails Against Loss, His Supporters Become More Threatening, N.Y. Times (updated Jan. 7, 2021); Video: Group Chants ‘We Are Watching You’ outside Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs’ Home, KPNX-TV 12 News (Nov. 18, 2020).
- ↑ Peter Hermann & Keith Alexander, Proud Boys Leader Barred From District By Judge Following His Arrest, Wash. Post (Jan. 5, 2021); Jason Slotkin et al., 4 Stabbed, 33 Arrested After Trump Supporters, Counterprotesters Clash in D.C., NPR (Dec. 12, 2020).
