On the heels of their successful insurrection, which resulted in minimal arrests and even some hand-holding by law enforcement, the thugs who took over the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday could be planning a return to Washington, D.C., ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
Rumblings on social media—specifically the Parler app where white extremists, Trump supporters and the like are frequently making their home on the internet after being kick off platforms like Facebook and Reddit—suggest that the marauding band of MAGA men and women are considering another attack on the nation’s capital on Jan. 19.
Screencaps shared multiple times on Twitter show a Parler user with the handle ‘Colonel007’ promising that more “patriots” will descend on D.C.—and his posts can only be described as terrorist screeds.
“Many of us will return on January 19, 2021, carrying our weapons,” reads one post. “We will come in numbers that no standing army or police agency can match.”
“Let’s hunt these cowards down like the traitors that each of them are,” says another post by the same user. “We now have the green light. The cowards ran as we took the capital. They have it back now, only because we left. It wasn’t the building we wanted, it was them!”
While it might be easy and tempting to dismiss the comments as empty boasting, the events on Jan. 6—which were preceded by similar announcements on social media platforms—underlie the importance of authorities taking these unregulated, heavily armed white men at their word.
The FBI is currently using social media to seek the public’s assistance in identifying and wrangling the hordes of people who broke into the Capitol. It may also behoove them to also start tracking those who are plotting to return—and possible do even worse.
Parler isn’t the only place where they are discussing plans for another soon-coming racist revolution attempt.
From Newsweek:
Elsewhere Dave Hays, also known as QAnon advocate Praying Medic, appeared to suggest Trump supporters should be personally responsible for removing Biden if the military does not intervene.
“The problem with stealing an election and getting caught: Even if you make it into the White House, how do you keep 80 million people from physically removing you?,” Praying Medic tweeted to his 477,000 followers.
In a follow-up blog post, he wrote: “If you think millions of Americans (many of whom are former military) will passively allow their nation to be destroyed, you’re delusional. If the military does not intervene and if Biden is inaugurated on the 20th, we could be headed for a second revolution.”
Hayes added that he was not endorsing a revolution or an overthrow of the government, but one is likely if “elected leaders continue to deny election fraud.”
“Trump still has about two weeks. Does he have a trick up his sleeve? All eyes on January 20,” another QAnon supporter posted on Twitter, according to Newsweek.
Meanwhile, Trump—who has returned to Twitter after a 12-hour suspension—says he will not be attending Biden’s inauguration, which surprises no one.
Biden answered the announcement on Friday by saying it’s a “good thing” that Trump won’t show up, reports Politico.
Also surprising no one is Trump’s recent tweet boosting about the so-called patriots (i.e. insurgents) who keep promising and enacting violence in his name. “They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!” the president posted.
They attack the nation’s democratic institutions, largely get away with it and then signal more to come, and somehow they’re the ones being treated unfairly? White violence and victimhood is clearly still alive and well.