I have yet to see this brought up, but let’s be clear about what Trump very likely hoped these insurrectionists would do. Reports of two explosive devices being found show that the rioters planned (they didn’t make the bombs on site) to blow things up and likely start fires. Guns and ammo seized as well as photos of zip ties designed to secure people show other insurrectionists planned to murder or take by force members of Congress.
So what if the Capitol building had experienced explosives and fire while members of the House and Senate and staff were trapped inside? With many members of Congress dead or injured—too few left or too many injured to complete the formal count of the Electoral College—then what? And remember Pence was there too. So Trump must have hoped he would perish with the others, leaving Trump totally unchecked and in control. And what if Trump invoked the Insurrection Act then to “put down” an obvious insurrection? Do you think his cronies at the Pentagon would not try to get the military to take control of Washington, and then move on to direct them against antifa—who the right wing nutters and claim, and Fox News and NewsMax and others in the lying propaganda media echo—were the instigators and their supporters?
With Congress beheaded and no formal certification of Biden’s win, what do you think would happen? And what would the civil service do if faced with no formal cession of power and no clear lines of power left to invoke a Congressional check by duly elected and authorized representatives?
This was a genuine coup attempt, even though not directed by Trump. He knew what kind of people were attracted to him (see the photo of his supporters at another Trump rally). He surely knew the odds were good if these kind of people got inside that they would bomb, or shoot, or set fires where they could. And then, as usual, Trump could benefit from the chaos and mayhem.
Trump must be impeached, at the very least. This was attempted murder against the heart of the American government, an attempt he directly, imminently instigated at the rally just minutes before the attempt was made. He encouraged these people to come to Washington and “go wild” against the certification of his successor. They came. They rioted. They attacked. They had the explosives and the weapons to succeed, and barely failed.
And those who aided and abetted this attempted murder of our elected leaders and our democracy must also be held responsible—that includes Republican members of House and Senate who cynically manipulated and lied these insurrectionists into insurrection.
This cannot be allowed to pass. Insurrection cannot be swept under the carpet or flushed down the memory hole. If Biden and Harris manage to assume office on the afternoon of January 20th, they cannot simply call to turn the page and look forward not back. This was attempted murder, aided, abetted and incited by Trump and his allies in the House and Senate, and aided and abetted by allies at Fox News, NewsMax, OAN, and Facebook. We cannot have a future if we do not address this imminent threat to our democracy.
