Tag: Invasion of Capitol

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH – FASCISTS GO PLEADING

On By rebelbreezeIn Anti-Fascism, Current Affairs Comment, Political Analysis, USALeave a comment

Diarmuid Breatnach

(Reading time: 6 mins.)

Despite the big talk and ‘revolutionary’ posturing of fascists and other far-Rightists, once confronted with painful consequence the tendency is for all their bravado to collapse without dignity, as evidenced in many trials of the Capitol invaders of 2021.

On 6th January fascists, far-Rightists and other misguided followers of Republican Party Trump, who had lost the US Presidential elections to Joe Biden of the Democratic Party, broke through police lines, many invading the USA’s Capitol building and strutting around inside.

The incident had been fueled by Trump’s allegations of electoral fraud to deny him victory, then repeated and disseminated by far-Right conspirationist ideologues, in particular along social media networks and the invasion was allegedly to prevent confirmation of Biden’s election.

The invasion of the Capitol surprised many around the world and seemed to shock the USA’s public, while most of the fascists and far-Rightists reveled in it. The Capitol building is the seat of the US Congress, the legislative branch of the US State, i.e of its parliament.

Of course, the attack on the Capitol, despite the undemocratic nature of the participants, does not actually represent an “attack on US democracy” as claimed by many supporters of the US State. This is because the democracy of that state is entirely a fallacy.

The US State is run by a military-industrial-financial oligarchy, resulting in most State decisions and laws directly or indirectly benefiting that ruling class. In addition, the supposed ultimate decision-making bodies are composed of mostly rich people,1 some of them billionaires.

Campaigns for the Presidency itself are enormously expensive and paid for by contributions, the ‘pipers’ of course later ‘calling the tunes’. Judges of the Supreme Court are political appointees.

FASCIST MOBILISATIONS

Although many were taken by surprise by the invasion, the social and political stage had been under construction for some time.

In January 2017 in a clash between Proud Boys and antifascists ostensibly around the issue of the covid epidemic and mandatory mask-wearing, an antifascist shot and wounded in the leg one of the ‘Boys, surrendered to the police and was charged.2

Nearly 3,000 miles away in Charlottesville in August the “Unite the Right” rally was held, ostensibly to protest the removal of the monument to Robert E Lee, Civil War Confederate Army commander but also an attempt to build fascist unity against antifascist, antiracist resistance.3

Fascists and other far-Rightists after their earlier “Unite the Right” march through the campus of Virginia University surrounding counter-protesters in Charlottesville shortly before they attacked the antifascists. (NurPhoto via Getty images).

There were numerous clashes in Charlottesville with the cops standing by until one of the fascists drove his car into the crowd, killing an antifascist. In Oregon, over 2,600 miles away in 2020, an antifascist killed a fascist and was hunted down by police and shot dead in disputed circumstances.4

Before, between and after those events there were many clashes across the USA and at one time Trump declared that “Antifa” were a terrorist group and would be made illegal! Antifascism is of course an ideological position shared by otherwise disparate forces and not an organisation.

There was at least one Nazi swastika among the Unite the Right marchers and a number of fascist salutes. (Photo sourced: Internet)

TRUMP’S FOLLOWERS

While Trump himself has been undergoing trials and legal manoeuvres with regard to a number of issues, including allegations of financial fraud and unauthorised removal of documents from the White House, he is currently running for the Presidential nomination of the Republican Party.

As is usually the case with fascist leaders, it is their followers who carry the most severe consequences5 and a great many have been sentenced to terms of imprisonment in the huge number of trials following6 and, without any great evidence of protests in solidarity with them.7

On the two-year anniversary of the event, 978 had been arrested and charged with multiple crimes in relation to the attack, according to a Department of Justice database. According to research, the median age of the defendants is 39, with over 86% identifying as male.

A more recent report quoted more than 1,200 defendants having been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Over 900 of them have pleaded guilty or been convicted after trials decided by a judge or jury.

Approximately 750 rioters have been sentenced, with nearly two-thirds getting some term of imprisonment.8

Many of these racist, right-wing and fascist warriors have buckled under to their allegedly sworn enemy, the Federal and State police and informed against their erstwhile comrades or plea-bargained with their prosecutors.

How many? By January 2023, over half of the charged, according to the Department of Justice.

One of the most recent was Charles Donohoe, not-so-proud-now Proud Boys president of a chapter in North Carolina. He was a lieutenant of former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison — the longest prison term so far in a Capitol riot case.

Last May, Tarrio and three other former Proud Boys leader, along with Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and other members were convicted of seditious conspiracy charges for plotting to stop the peaceful transfer of presidential power from Donald Trump to Biden.

Rhodes was sentenced last year to 18 years in prison.

A fine example of UStater manhood posing for a photo publicising their militia. (Photo sourced: Internet)

Donohoe agreed to co-operate with federal authorities and pleaded guilty in April 2020 to two felony counts: ‘conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding’ and ‘assaulting, resisting or impeding police’ but was not called to testify at the trial of Tarrio and other Proud Boys earlier this year.

Another who pleaded, Ray Epps, was sentenced recently but only to community service. Some of his former associates accused him being an undercover agent for the State and he is suing Fox News for feeding that view. True or not, his soft sentence is unlikely to dispel suspicions.9

It will hardly help either that Federal prosecutors have backed up Epps’ vehement denials that he was a government plant or FBI operative. They say Epps has never been a government employee or agent beyond serving in the US Marines from 1979 to 1983.10 Of course, they’d tell us if he was.

The Prosecutor asked for six months jail and a non-custodial sentence certainly seems unusual considering the verbal and video evidence they had against him. On the other hand the State might have been painting a target on him to distract from real undercover agents.

Despite the overwhelming evidence of fascist and far-Right preparation for the riot and invasion some still believe that “Antifa” or the State started the whole thing in order to make the far-Right look bad (this kind of fantasy frequently features in aftermaths of fascist actions).

A more likely conspiracy is police tolerance and perhaps membership of fascist groups which, after all, are often on a similar ideological page to a lot of cops who, at the same time, tend to dislike the kind of political, ethnic or LGBT groups who most likely to be actively antifascist.

One can only imagine the response of the State if the Capitol invaders had been socialists, an ethnic minority or antifascists.

USA FAR-RIGHT & FASCIST ORGANISATIONS

Most people would be familiar with at least the name of Ku Klux Klan but there are a large number of other far-Right, fascist and racist organisations spread widely across the US State, such as the Three Percenters, Oath Keepers and Proud Boys,11 who consider themselves USA “Patriots”.12

Their activity may be on line, spreading racist and fascist ideology, along with unsound conspiracy theories but they can also be active on the street, parading their beliefs and trying to recruit members, or in seeking to intimidate or attack Left or minority groups.

According to researchers, more than a dozen different such groups participated in the Capitol riots and among those who stormed the Capitol there were participants in the fascist 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that resulted in the death of a counter-protester.

One of those veterans was Tim Gionet, a fascist activist who goes by the online pseudonym of “Baked Alaska” and live-streamed a video of himself on DLive from inside the capitol.13 Anti-Jewishness used to be a common trend then more often replaced today by anti-Muslim.

Racism is very much part of their ideology which is why they reacted with such hostility to the Black Live Matter protests. In addition they tend to be anti-feminist and against LGBT people, often enough being full of anti-immigration and imperialist rhetoric.

Remember the guy with the horned fur hat, glorifying in the riot and occupation? Jacob Chasely is his name — he pleaded guilty and for mercy too. He was sentenced to 41 months. (Photo sourced: Internet)

End.

FOOTNOTES

1 https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2020/04/majority-of-lawmakers-millionaires/

2https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/01/23/alt-right-event-seattle-devolves-chaos-and-violence-outside-truth-twisting-inside

3https://www.npr.org/2022/08/12/1116942725/the-charlottesville-rally-5-years-later-its-what-youre-still-trying-to-forget

4https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killings_of_Aaron_Danielson_and_Michael_Reinoehl

5 One of them, sadly misguided 35-year old Ashley Babbit, ex US Military of 14 years, was shot dead by police guard during the attack as she was boosted up to get through a window.

6 Though relatively short, it is true, when compared to what would befall Left revolutionaries under similar circumstances.

7 Which must seem like a sad reflection on one of their mottoes: “Where we go one we go all”, often abbreviated as “WWG1WGA!” being one of the most popular QAnon slogans.

8https://www.breakingnews.ie/world/man-branded-undercover-agent-in-capitol-attack-conspiracy-theories-spared-jail-1573595.html

9Ibid.

10Quite a few of the rioters have past military records but it is difficult to decide whether these are disproportionate in for the militarised society which is the USA.

11These three are militias and usually turn up at events with assault rifles and wearing bullet-proof vests.

12https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2017/10/13/explained-alt-right-alt-light-and-militias-in-the-us

13 The fact that so many did so or posted on line of having been involved testifies to the psychological need for recognition and feeling of invulnerability of many of them.

SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Clashes between fascists and antifascists in the USA: https://www.npr.org/2022/08/12/1116942725/the-charlottesville-rally-5-years-later-its-what-youre-still-trying-to-forget

https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/01/23/alt-right-event-seattle-devolves-chaos-and-violence-outside-truth-twisting-inside

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killings_of_Aaron_Danielson_and_Michael_Reinoehl

Ashley Babbit, shot dead during the invasion: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/us/who-was-ashli-babbitt.html

Trials and sentencing of Capitol rioters: https://www.breakingnews.ie/world/ex-proud-boys-leader-sentenced-to-three-years-in-prison-for-capitol-riot-plot-1566697.html

https://www.breakingnews.ie/world/man-branded-undercover-agent-in-capitol-attack-conspiracy-theories-spared-jail-1573595.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/01/05/jan-6-insurrection-2-years-later-how-many-arrested-convicted-and-what-price-donald-trump-may-still-pay/

https://apnews.com/article/prisons-arizona-capitol-siege-5c9ebf384bf936403d42e1a453c89153

Trump electoral bid: https://www.breakingnews.ie/world/colorado-supreme-court-bans-donald-trump-from-ballot-under-insurrection-clause-1566708.html

Fascist groups in the USA: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2017/10/13/explained-alt-right-alt-light-and-militias-in-the-us

QAnon: https://www.bbc.com/news/53498434

USA fascist and racist code terminology: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2017/10/8/a-brief-dictionary-to-help-understand-the-us-far-right

Government Collusion in Attack on American Capitol Raises Many Disturbing Questions

On By rebelbreezeIn Anti-Fascism, Current Affairs Comment, Official Corruption, Political Analysis, USA5 Comments

Geoff Cobb

(Reading time: 5 mins)

Back in November, I was horrified enough by an orgy of violence at a Pro-Trump march to write a column exposing it, but never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined the horrific scenes that unfolded on television Wednesday January 6th. Millions of Americans watched in disbelief as tens of thousands of Neo Nazis, White Supremacists and other members of the extreme Right invaded the Capitol. A horrified CNN presenter asked the question that was on everyone’s mind: where is the National Guard and law enforcement? Black Lives Matter protestors asked: why was their peaceful march in Washington met by a huge National Guard and police presence, while these same forces were nowhere to be seen as violent white supremacists ran amok?

Trump supporters all along stairs at front of the Capitol building, the seat of the USA legislature. (Source: Internet)

Looking at the complete lack of preparations for the violent mob which swarmed the Capitol on Wednesday, it may have seemed like bad planning. However, it’s becoming more and more obvious that the lack of security was absolutely intentional. 

The attacks that took place should have surprised no one. The extensive multi-billion dollar security apparatus ignored several red flags. Plotters in on-line far-right forums explicitly discussed how to storm the building, handcuff lawmakers with zip ties and disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s election — in what they portrayed as responding to orders from President Trump. Trump supporters exchanged detailed tactical advice about what to bring and what to do once they assembled at the Capitol to conduct “citizen’s arrests” of members of Congress. One poster said, “[expletive] zip ties. I’m bringing rope!” Online chatter was organized, in some cases, around hashtags such as #StormTheCapitol and included threats to kill congressional leaders.

The violence that occurred was orchestrated at the highest levels of the Trump administration. Trump made sure that the Pentagon would not provide necessary forces to protect the nation’s capital against the assault he was orchestrating. Shortly after losing the election in November, Trump began replacing Pentagon officials. Principled leaders were dismissed as Trump packed the Pentagon with sycophants who had demonstrated blind loyalty to him. The new appointmentss included bringing in disgraced former Gen. Anthony Tata, Islamophobic right-wing radio host Frank Wuco, and conspiracy theorist Rich Higgins. A day after positioning this trio, Trump replaced the Chief of Staff at the Pentagon with former Devin Nunes staffer Kash Patel. On the same day, he forced out the undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence

Last Wednesday’s assault on the Capitol seemed that the Government was caught unprepared, but the lack of response was carefully crafted. Trump made certain to get rid of those officials who had resisted efforts to use active military troops against Black Lives Matter protestors over the summer. When the violence started last Wednesday, Trump’s lackeys at the Pentagon blocked repeated requests from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser for the use of the National Guard to contain Trump’s “wild” protest and continued blocking it, even as Senators and Representatives were frantically phoning from inside the besieged Capitol. This was not a spontaneous event. It was, in every way, a plotted coup and the Pentagon was part of it.

While exactly what happened still remains murky it is now clear that the Pentagon limited the Washington D.C. National Guard to managing traffic. Foreseeing violence, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser requested support in advance of Trump’s rally, but the Department of Defense said that the National Guard could not have ammunition or riot gear, interact with protesters except in self-defense, or otherwise function in a protective capacity without the explicit permission of acting Secretary Christopher Miller, whom Trump put into office shortly after the election after firing Defense Secretary Mark Esper.

When Capitol Police requested aid early Wednesday afternoon, the request was denied. Defense officials held back the National Guard for about three hours before sending it to support the Capitol Police. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican, tried repeatedly to send his state’s National Guard, but the Pentagon would not authorize it. The National Guard of Virginia was mobilized only when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the Governor, Ralph Northam, herself.

There was also a personal angle to holding back the National Guard. Bowser was harshly critical of Trump in the summer, and the Pentagon got revenge on her by denying help when she needed it. A White House adviser told New York Magazine’s Washington correspondent Olivia Nuzzi that Trump was watching television coverage of the siege and was enthusiastic, although he didn’t like that the rioters looked “low class.” Many people called for Trump to make a statement urging his followers to desist, but for hours Trump said nothing.

As the assault on the Capitol unfolded, Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, who resigned on Thursday, made “an urgent plea” for a 200-member rapid response force to rush to the Capitol building. However, an official from the office of the Secretary of the Army replied that “wasn’t going to be possible.” As a reason, that official said the Pentagon didn’t like the “optics” of Guard members entering the Capitol—even though the building was at that point surrounded by thousands of Trump supporters who had forced their way through multiple levels of police security. It wasn’t until Trump supporters had actually stormed the building, smashed their way into the chambers of Congress, ransacked congressional offices, and prowled the halls hoping to take political leaders hostage, that the Pentagon finally approved the use of National Guard forces.

US Far-Right activists and supporters in possession of the Capitol, building of the Legislature of the USA on 6th January 2021. (Source: Internet)

On Thursday, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy ludicrously claimed the military had “acted as quickly as possible” and that officials hadn’t anticipated the level of violence demonstrated by Trump supporters in their “wildest imagination.” If so, they were the only ones. Trump encouraged exactly this type of action, and many others warned of the potential for violence. In fact, many of the same groups that rioted in December planned another orgy of violence for the bigger event that Trump was already advertising for January 6th.

Perhaps the prime target of the Capitol rioters was Vice President Mike Pence who had refused to block the certification of Biden’s election as president. While the rioters were in the Capitol, Trump tweeted: “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify.” The Vice President had to be whisked away to a secure location to save his life. Reuters photographer Jim Bourg, who was inside the Capitol, told he overheard three rioters in “Make America Great Again” caps plotting to find Vice President Mike Pence and hang him as a “traitor”; other rioters were shouting the same.

Many of the rioters are being identified and they allegedly include police officers, elected Republican Party officials and former members of the military. Some rioters gained access to the security cordon around the Capitol supposedly by flashing badges. Some Capitol police allegedly opened barricades for the rioters and even took selfies with the mob. Five people died in the mayhem including a woman shot in the chest. Capitol Police have identified her as Ashli E. Babbitt, an Air Force veteran and Q Anon conspiracy believer from San Diego. Fifty U.S. Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department officers were injured in the riot and one officer died while on duty.

Trump supporters storm thin line of police at an entrance to the Capitol building, Washington DC, capital of the USA. (Source: Internet)

AMAZING NOT MORE LOSS OF LIFE

It is amazing that there was not more loss of life. An Alabama man allegedly parked a pickup truck packed with 11 homemade bombs, an assault rifle and a handgun two blocks from the US Capitol. Another man showed up with an assault rifle and hundreds of rounds of ammunition and told acquaintances that he wanted to shoot or run over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Christopher Alberts, of Maryland, was arrested for carrying a handgun and 25 rounds of ammunition on Capitol grounds. Explosives were found in the Capitol and multiple locations around Washington.

Trumpist supporters actually inside the Capitol. Some Rightists including a Senator claimed the riot was caused by Antifa and BLM supporters! The FBI denied any substance to that allegation. (Source: Internet)

In response to the wave of anger that spread across the country, right wingers claimed that the rioters were Antifa and Black Lives Matter activists. Speaking on the House floor only hours after the mayhem, Representative Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) expressed his anger at the perpetrators. But Gaetz wasn’t accusing fellow Trump supporters — instead, he suggested members (sic) of Antifa had secretly infiltrated the group to cause the chaos. The F.B.I subsequently refuted claims that Antifa activists took part in the attack.

Will Trump be punished for his role in the violence? If there were real justice in America, Donald Trump and his flunkies in the Pentagon who planned holding back the National Guard would face severe punishment. It is almost certain, though, that Trump will avoid paying for his criminal role in the riot, even though he has blood on his hands.

End.

Shot of Trumpist mob in front of Capitol building as many have already gained entrance (Source: Internet)

CAPITALIST DEMOCRACY, TRUMP AND FASCISM

On By rebelbreezeIn Anti-Fascism, Capitalism, Current Affairs Comment, Current Event Report, Political Analysis, USALeave a comment

Diarmuid Breatnach

(Reading time: 5 mins.)

In the capital city of the USA, the most powerful superpower in the world, supporters of the President who lost the elections stormed the Capitol, seat of the Congress of Representatives and of the legislative branch of the USA. The Trump supporters invading the building, according to some witness and police reports, carried weapons such as steel bars and chemical sprays and wounded 50 police officers, some seriously. Four people died in the Capitol grounds, at least one shot by a police officer.

Those who forced their way into the Capitol building were apparently intent on preventing Congress, the parliament of the USA, from discussing the Presidential election results and probably voting that they were legal and correct. They had been whipped up through weeks of President Trump claiming that the vote that ousted him was rigged and then yesterday again by him in person addressing a mass protest meeting in the Capital.

While mainstream opponents of Trump and some of his erstwhile supporters are calling these incidents an attack on democracy, I cannot agree. I certainly agree that current Trump supporters generally and those in the riot in particular are hostile to democracy – many of them are racist, fascist and violent. However I cannot agree that the system of government in the USA is democratic, much less representative — but more about that anon.

THE COPS AND THE FAR-RIGHT

I feel pretty confident in saying that if that rioting crowd had been black – or socialist – that there would have been a lot more than four dead. The Capitol steps and the ground around would have been dark with bodies and awash with blood. US police forces carry guns and are not shy of using them. Nevertheless, at most they shot four and possibly less out of an armed crowd that assaulted them and stormed the building of the government of the USA. What could explain that degree of restraint on the part of the cops?

Washington DC Trumpist rally prior to the Capitol invasion. (Photo source: Internet)

The Capitol’s Chief of Police Steven Sund, responding to criticism of lack of police preparedness, said that his force had a good plan worked out but that it was for a peaceful demonstration. OK — but why that assumption? There have been many examples of the violent behaviour of that Trumpist sector in many cities where the Right are in minority and one as recently as 14th November 2020 in Washington itself (reported on Rebel Breeze, see below). On that evening, far-Right Trump supporters, angry at the election totals in favour of contender Joe Biden and at Trump losing the election, rioted in the capital city and attacked people who did not agree with them.

Ah, yes, but you see, that violence was not directed at the police – in fact, it was directed at people who the police tend not to like either. Like socialists. Like people of colour. Trumpists attacked people of colour and left-wingers while police mostly stood by or attacked the victims defending themselves. The police have come to regard most of the Far-Right in the USA as being the right kind of people with the right kind of thinking – i.e Right-wing. Which is because the police themselves, for the most part, have the same kind of thinking. They expected the demonstration to be peaceful because they did not expect the Trumpists to attack the police.

The cops have got so accustomed to the Far-Right attacking the traditional targets of the cops, so used to colluding with them on many occasions, even in murders, that it seemed inconceivable to them that they would actually attack cops to get where they wanted to go. And we see this often, don’t we? The PSNI shocked at the violence towards them from the Loyalists in the Six Counties because normally, they collude against the Republicans and the nationalist areas. French police shocked when French fascists turn on them instead of both attacking the Algerians, Africans, commies ….

The US Acting Attorney General announced that they were processing evidence and expected to have 52 participants charged on Thursday as well as possibly others later. But what about charging Trump as the instigator?

A Trump supporter in the Capitol with Confederacy flag, an even more reactionary flag than the usual. (Photo source: Internet)

TRUMP WENT TOO FAR?

Twitter gave Trump a 12-hour ban only after he appeared to condone the rioting and Facebook has banned him until he steps down from the Presidency. I don’t view that as democratic defence action since I have seen comrades and other activists regularly suspended and banned from Facebook for doing no more than telling the truth about the behaviour of the PSNI or of the Israeli Zionist state. But to ban a right-winger and the President of the USA! What that says to me is that there is a growing consensus in the ruling class of the USA that Trump has gone too far, that he is a danger – not to democracy but to their class. That he has taken his ego above the needs of the class of which he was a member and which sustained him.

Trump addressing rally of his supporters in Washington DC prior to their storming the Capitol building. (Photo source: Internet)

That consensus is growing with resignations from his administration, including one of the Secretaries (like a government Minister in many European state parliaments). And also with cries for his impeachment again (he beat the process in 2019!), i.e something like being put on trial by the legislature and losing his position as President. Of course, the majority may wish to wait until January 20th when Trump has to step down anyway, as apart from him, only two other US Presidents have faced impeachment: Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton (Nixon resigned before it came to that). But there is no doubt that Trump’s actions and the attack and invasion of the Capitol have rattled the elite so what they will do is not certain yet.

“DEMOCRACY”

Though they may be concerned about the members of their class sticking to agreed procedures and respecting their institutions (at least on the surface), their alarm has nothing to do with defending democracy. The USA Congress is not a democratic institution; just over half the members of the House of Representatives are at least millionaires and many billionaires – hardly representative of the population of the United States. Successful election campaigns are funded by financial, industrial and military interests that then expect payback in voting favourable legislation, tax cuts and other measures. And voting down “harmful” proposals such as reducing the damage to the environment or taxing corporations adequately. In my time alone I have seen all US Presidents lie blatantly about foreign policy (Trump perhaps less than some others), one instigate burglaries and tell lies, another bring the country to war based on blatant lies, another use government offices for liaisons and then lie about it … and so on.

Although the USA is perhaps one of the most obvious examples of corrupt government on a huge scale, all capitalist government is like it, albeit possibly to a lesser degree. The most we may expect from capitalist democracy is to be given a choice as to which party of the exploiting capitalist class we can put into government.

AND THE FASCISTS ….

Most fascists pretend most of the time that they support democracy, by which they mean the kind of capitalist democracy which I have just been describing. Socialism, on the other hand, is “undemocratic”, they claim. But when fascists feel what they want is being threatened, they quickly drop all appearance of democracy, even capitalist democracy. That is when fascists burn government buildings (like the Reichstag in Germany in 1933) or when they stage coups (as in Austria 1934, Spain in 1936, Hungary in 1944). Or when they storm the Capitol because they didn’t get the candidate they wanted reelected as President of the USA. Democracy, for fascists, is what gives them what they want.

Trump supporters overwhelm cop lines and storm the Capitol building. (Photo source: Internet)

Not only that, they lie and put the blame on their enemies. Like they tried to blame communists for the burning of the German Reichstag in February 1933 and anarchists for the bombing of the Basque Town of Gernika in April 1937. Like some blamed the Washington violence last November (including in a rant to Rebel Breeze) on “BLM and Antifa”. And like some are already, incredibly one might think, blaming the Left for having “taken over” the Capitol “demonstration” (see RTÉ report below).

End.

SOURCES:

Capitol riots and politician reactions: https://www.breakingnews.ie/world/pelosi-threatens-to-impeach-trump-after-armed-insurrection-against-america-1061189.html

Previous recent Trump supporters violence in Washington DC: https://rebelbreeze.com/tag/far-right-2/

Police Chief comments: https://www.breakingnews.ie/world/capitol-police-chief-condemns-protest-and-identifies-woman-who-died-1061106.html

Calls for impeachment: https://www.breakingnews.ie/world/donald-trump-vows-orderly-transition-but-calls-mount-for-him-to-be-ousted-1061161.html

Minimising the violence and blaming the Left (from RTÉ reporting):

“American conservative media has played down the gravity of the storming of the US Capitol citing anger at the establishment and accusing the hard left – without proof – of having infiltrated the crowd.

“As well as Fox News, new ultra-conservative outlets battling to nibble market share from the television news giant sought to dissociate Trump supporters from the chaos in Congress.

“The demonstrators “pushed and shoved but for the most part, that was about it,” said Kevin Corke, a Fox News reporter.

“ “Most of what we saw was beautiful today,” said Ben Bergquam, a reporter for the small online channel Real America’s Voice.

“Outlets including Real America’s Voice, Newsmax and the One America News Network (OAN) – which Trump has recommended several times in recent weeks – claimed without any evidence that the crowd had been infiltrated by small ultra-left groups.

“ “I think they were undercover Antifa,” Gina Loudon, presenter for Real America’s Voice, said of the rioters she encountered in the corridors of the Capitol.

“While denouncing the violence committed in the precincts of Congress, Greg Kelly, of Newsmax, said it nonetheless followed a certain logic.

“ “If you steal an election,” he explained, echoing Trump’s discredited accusations, “there are going to be a lot of angry people.”

“ “There’s a reason this is happening,” said Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson. “It is happening because the people with all the power have decided to clamp down so harshly on the population that things explode at a certain point.” ”

https://www.rte.ie/news/2021/0107/1188165-world-live-updates/