There are many in the media and law enforcement who will be scratching their heads for some time to come. But the January sixth assault on the U.S. Capitol Building was long-planned and possibly allowed to happen. The hows and whys will be answered with new information. Some theories will become facts.
We can dispose of the belief that no one could have predicted what happened by going to a place of record, Twitter. The first tweet from Arieh Kovler on December 21, 2020: “On January 6, Armed Trumpist Militias will be rallying in DC, at Trump’s orders. It’s highly likely that they’ll try to storm the capitol after it certifies Biden’s Win…”
On January 6, armed Trumpist militias will be rallying in DC, at Trump's orders. It's highly likely that they'll try to storm the Capitol after it certifies Joe Biden's win. I don't think this has sunk in yet.
— Arieh Kovler (@ariehkovler) December 21, 2020
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There’s quite a few tweets. Click to see the entire thread. Highlights include those posted below.
These people are angry at the Democrats. They're angry at the GOP for not suspending democracy. They hate the media, and many consider police to be the enemy even as they fly the "blue lives" flag instead of the Stars and Stripes. pic.twitter.com/30rHiBnv3s
— Arieh Kovler (@ariehkovler) December 21, 2020
…some think Trump will win because *they* will ensure it. Maybe by forcing Congress to certify him as the winner at gunpoint. Maybe as backup forces to Trump's supposed military coup. https://t.co/zwSXhT9DQK
— Arieh Kovler (@ariehkovler) December 21, 2020
To be clear here, I don't think the 3%ers, Proud Boys, Oathkeepers or boogaloo types are going to seize the Capitol. But some of them are going try. And people will die.
— Arieh Kovler (@ariehkovler) December 21, 2020
I note that @Robertwaldeck reckons I'm completely wrong here and that DC forces including the Capitol Police, DC police and Nat Guard, which he knows well, will be able to keep things completely under control.
— Arieh Kovler (@ariehkovler) December 21, 2020
Yet the National Guard wasn’t there. They were dealing with traffic. The Capitol Police were on their own. Many have asked where the police were during the assault? The joke, the meme, is best summed up as, “You don’t ask where Miley Cyrus is when Hanna Montana is on stage.” The truth is, that among these militias, Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are the police. The Oath Keepers proudly advertise themselves as consisting of current and former police, military, and first responders. And the police, themselves, have long been a hotbed of right-wing activity. For those who wonder if the Oath Keepers were there, this is from their website, which I will not link to:
Yet, people still claim confusion. Was it antifa? Let’s be clear. If these were left-wing protesters or people of color, the Guard would have been there, heavily armed, as they were this past summer.
According to Pro Publica’s Capitol Rioters Planned for Weeks in Plain Sight. The Police Weren’t Ready, “The invasion of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday was stoked in plain sight. For weeks, far-right supporters of President Donald Trump railed on social media that the election had been stolen. They openly discussed the idea of violent protest on the day Congress met to certify the result. Stop the Steal people had been planning it since at least December 23rd, writing at that time that, ‘We came up with the idea to occupy just outside the CAPITOL on Jan 6th.’ Leaders of Stop the Steal called their Wednesday demonstration the Wild Protest, a name taken from a tweet by Trump that encouraged his supporters to take their grievances to the streets of Washington.”
And when the mob did break past police into the Capitol, “Videos showed officers stepping aside, and sometimes taking selfies, as if to usher Trump’s supporters into the building they were supposed to guard.”
According to Stars and Stripes, the Pentagon limited DC National Guard before pro-Trump protests laying some blame on the Mayor, writing, “In memos issued Monday and Tuesday in response to a request from the D.C. mayor, the Pentagon prohibited the city’s guardsmen from receiving ammunition or riot gear, interacting with protesters unless necessary for self-defense, sharing equipment with local law enforcement, or using Guard surveillance and air assets without the defense secretary’s approval, according to officials familiar with the orders. The limits were established because the Guard had not been asked to assist with crowd or riot control.”
Does blame lie at the feet of Mayor Muriel Bowser who apparently was worried about “optics” as Stars and Stripes says; the slow response of the National Guard, taking three hours to deploy where it was needed; or was it Federal officials who knew this was going to happen and, perhaps deliberately, did not properly inform the right people?
Does blame fall on the new postings at the Pentagon since Mark Esper and other staff were dismissed? I doubt anyone instructed some police to step aside, take selfies, or peacefully direct protestors inside.
Ultimately, I lay it at Donald Trump’s feet, a man who lied that the election had been stolen and encouraged people to “peacefully” storm the capitol, while being “wild” with a wink and a nod. I lay it at the feet of Congressional enablers, Senators Hawley (R-MO) and Cruz (R-TX).
It’s going to be discussed for a long time, and an investigation must be conducted. But let’s be clear—without proper security, this was inevitable. Frighteningly, according to The Washington Post, Capitol siege was planned online. Trump supporters now planning the next one. Sometime between January 16th and 20th, they are planning another attack. Whatever they’re planning, there’s no definitive indication we’re ready for it.
