Yesterday, as we watched on television the anarchy of an attempted coup staged by a fascist mob at the behest of the President of the United States, we were thankfully safe at home in Mount Rainier, Maryland, a National Register Historic District situated just five miles from the Capitol. Our town shares a border with the District of Columbia, and while the Capitol Police, reinforced by Metropolitan DC Police and elements of the DC, Maryland and Virginia National Guards, tried to restored order following the mob’s breaching of the Capitol grounds and building, our local town police were put on alert as a 6pm curfew went into effect throughout the District of Columbia. Local police personnel were deployed on all streets with direct access to DC should the violence spread in our direction. We were asked to remain indoors, something we have grown accustomed to over the past nine months. Thankfully the violence was contained mostly to Capitol Hill and it subsided once the curfew went into effect and the police arrested violators.
Let’s be perfectly clear. Trump incited his supporters at a midday rally outside the White House, stating that he would “never concede” and voicing his hope that Vice President Pence would intervene to reverse the electoral college results which the president continued to claim were rigged in favor of President-Elect Biden. He urged the mob to march on the Capitol and take the country back. And so they marched, attacking the Capitol Police and forcing their way through security barricades. They stormed the steps of the Capitol, smashing doors, breaking windows, and scaling walls to access the upper levels of the building. Once inside they ranged freely throughout the hallways and offices, including the Rotunda. They further breached the Senate Chamber only after the debate over Republican objections to the Electoral College results was temporarily adjourned and Senators, Representatives, and the Electoral College votes from each state were whisked to a secure location. The mob carried Confederate and Trump flags, ripped down US flags, destroyed and looted furniture, broke into offices and rummaged through desks and rifled and defaced files. Federal authorities, including the Secret Service, prevented a breaching of the House of Representatives with guns drawn. One of the terrorists was shot and killed.
Eventually peace was restored and the debate was allowed to continue as Republican objections to the final vote tally fizzled and sputtered in light of the Trump inspired coup attempt. Vice President Pence (R-IN), one of Trump’s most loyal allies, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), one of his key enablers, broke with the president, calling for a confirmation and certification of the Electoral College votes. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) also stated that he hoped that Congress will change for the better. “The violence, destruction and chaos we saw earlier was unacceptable, undemocratic and un-American.” There were still a few hardcore stand outs who continued to raise their objections, but the President Elect was finally confirmed in the wee hours of this morning.
Little did we know at the time of Trump’s inauguration almost four years ago, when he promised to end “American carnage” right here and right now that he was about to unleash an unprecedented nightmare assault on American democracy marked by staggering mismanagement; his unethical activities that lined his and his family’s pockets with taxpayer dollars while also using his office to illegally gain information from a foreign power on his political enemies for which he was impeached; his destroying of old alliances while getting cozy with tin pot dictators and authoritarian governments; his withdrawing from important treaties and global institutions; and his constant insulting of anybody and everybody who did not toady to his epic narcissism. Add to these his authorization and support for programs and policies that qualify as crimes against humanity. Finally, he denied the dangers of a worldwide pandemic, initially calling it a hoax, To date it has claimed at least 361,000 lives in this country with no end in sight. And to top it all off, he incites his followers who continue to believe his long litany of pathological lies to attempt a coup d’etat in the hope of staying in power after losing the general election in November. His entire term in office has been the epitome of American carnage.
What a shameful day yesterday was in our nation’s history as a beacon of hope and democracy. And to think this all happened right on our doorstep. We should all pause and reflect on what we have just witnessed. It’s time for this madness, this “American carnage,” to end right here and right now!
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