Capitol Coup
I do not need to go through a chronology of events, or an etymology of descriptors such as ‘insurrection’ ‘mob’ ‘riot’ or ‘protest’. I don’t even need to go through potential consequences (if any even matter), whether that’s impeachment - again - or the invocation of the 14th or 25th Amendment.
What I do need to do, however, is lay out that this was a coup attempt that potentially goes up to the highest level.
The same ideology that drew murderous rioters to the US Capitol in the hopes of executing Senators and the Vice President has also been attracting groups of immigrant, Orthodox Christians; even as those same white Trump supporters continue to offend and belittle the lives of Copts.
The buildings were ordered to lock down, and as the vice president was whisked to secret, secure premises inside the Congress complex, outside, a video shows, the crowd chanted, "Hang Mike Pence."
Inside, video shows men decked out in combat gear carrying many plastic zip-tie handcuffs, suggesting they hoped to seize elected officials.
Lawmakers took cover: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi described how they barricaded doors, turned off lights and hid under tables for two and a half hours before the crowd was brought under control.
Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund said the threat was clear from the beginning.
"As soon as they hit the fence line, the fight was on," he told The Washington Post.
"They came with riot helmets, gas masks, shields, pepper spray, fireworks, climbing gear -- climbing gear! -- explosives, metal pipes, baseball bats," he said.
Firstly, I need to highlight the fact that if the people in the video above were anything but white, it would have been a massacre.
If you don’t believe me, just recall the police presence at Black Lives Matter protests in DC last summer, where people were just asking that the police stop shooting them dead for no reason.
This consistent injustice all comes from a deeply engrained racism that makes some whites - and some Coptic Egyptians - believe that the lighter one’s skin color is, the less dangerous they are. It is this inherent racism that directly led to white rioters being able to break into Congress and murder a police officer so easily (so much for ‘Blue Lives Matter’, huh?)
FiveThirtyEight lays it out nicely below, even though it misses the racial aspect in play.
Instead of National Guard troops being posted en masse around landmarks before a protest even began, we saw the Defense Department initially deny a request to send in troops — and that was after the Capitol had been breached. Instead of peaceful protesters being doused in tear gas, we saw a mob posing for selfies with police and being allowed to wander the corridors of power like they couldn’t decide whether they were invading the Capitol or touring it. Instead of President Trump calling these violent supporters “thugs,” as he called racial justice protesters, and advocating for more violent police crackdowns, we saw him remind his followers that they were loved before asking them nicely to go home.
More and more evidence is coming out that this was, indeed, a coup attempt.
Up to 15 Capitol Police officers are under investigation and at least seven other officers from New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, Virginia, and Texas are under investigation for participating in the riot.
The delay in National Guard and other police assistance also points to the fact that Trump appointees calling the shots were trying to delay assistance from arriving for as long as possible. Maryland’s governor Larry Hogan explains:
"I was getting called from the leaders of Congress pleading with me to get our Guard into the city," said Hogan of the attack, which left five people dead and disrupted the certification of President-elect Joe Biden. Hogan said it took three hours to get approval to send Maryland's forces.
State governors control their own National Guard units, as well as accept or reject the use of out-of-state units within their borders. The District of Columbia, however, has no governor, so it must rely on approval and instructions from the Pentagon.
More evidence that this was more than just a group of crazed, murderous rioters getting lucky is this from Bloomberg:
The executive director of the Republican Attorneys General Association is stepping down following reports that an offshoot of the group helped organize the Jan. 6 rally of President Donald Trump supporters that turned into a deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
This cannot be understated: in addition to various police departments from all over the country being involved, members of the Republican Attorneys General Association - who’s mission, as described on their website, includes working with “attorneys general across the country to support and promote the rule of law, limited government, legal reform, public safety, and the preservation of conservative values” - were also involved.
The enormity of these findings and these implications cannot be overlooked.
Senators and the Vice President could have been murdered, and American democracy itself has been gradually shredded since Trump was elected president. It is therefore no surprise that Trump’s presidency ends in the first invasion of Congress since 1814.
To add insult to injury, I wanted to share an example of how these types of people actually view Copts.
Eric Metaxas- a conservative radio host and a New York Times bestselling author - recently urged Trump supporters to continue fighting the election results while using the Libyan martyrs who were beheaded by ISIS as an example of individuals who paid the price for what they believe in.
I don’t know about you, but comparing people who were kidnapped and beheaded to those who believe an election was rigged, without providing or finding any evidence whatsoever, is incredibly offensive to those who actually suffered.
Conservatives like Eric cheapen the lives of the oppressed and use people like the Copts as toys and pawns to rack up political points.
All the more reason for non-white immigrants to disassociate with people who do not care for them and who egg on rioters into destroying Congress, murdering police officers, and attempting to assassinate Senators and the Vice President. But, alas.