Threat fromtrumpsupporters proves a mirage
On the day when former president Donald Trump’s most delusional supporters swore he would return to power – and the House suspended its business because of supposed threats to the US Capitol – Washington DC looked yesterday much the way it has for the past two months.
National Guard members armed with M4 rifles braced for rebellion that never came. Razor wire lined kilometres of steel fencing that went unbreached. Trump remained in Florida, where it was 21C and sunny.
The angst stemmed from another misguided belief within Qanon, the extremist ideology that claims Trump has been working in secret to overthrow a cabal of blooddrinking, Satan-worshipping Democratic paedophiles. After repeated unfulfilled prophecies, the group’s supporters declared in recent weeks that Trump would retake office on March 4, the country’s original Inauguration Day.
That, of course, did not happen, but on Thursday, the US Capitol Police announced it had identified a potential plot by a militant group to breach the Capitol, as hundreds of insurrectionists did on January 6. The threat apparently was credible enough for the House to suspend a session yesterday, though the Senate still convened. And it came just before the Capitol Police sought to extend the Guard’s mission by two more months.
Samantha Broaddus, 34, had heard vague references about a Qanon threat, but she didn’t think much of it before arriving on the Hill for a dentist appointment and finding what looked like a fortress.
‘‘It’s more sad than nerveracking,’’ she said, strolling down Second Streetnwwith her 9-monthold daughter, Isabelle. ‘‘DC used to feel so accessible to everyone who wanted. Now it’s starting to feel like another country.’’
Along the fence, which stretches from the east side of the Supreme Court to the Mall, police shooed away anyone who lingered nearby.
‘‘Have you seen the news?’’ they asked.
Outside the fence, the neighbourhood’s streets were quiet. People walked their dogs in the morning sun and masked students sat on steps drinking coffee. Construction crews continued with their projects.
For more than a month now, people who live and work on Capitol Hill have navigated, and gradually accepted, the reality that this part of their city has been converted into a militarised zone. No longer can they exercise on the Capitol lawn or rest on the steps of the Supreme Court. For many, yesterday was just another day in 2021.
About 5200 Guard members remain on duty in Washington, where the sprawling security operation costs US$2 million (NZ$2.8M) per week to maintain. The Guard’s mission here is scheduled to end on March 12, but the Capitol Police has asked that it be extended for 60 days.
The request appeared to surprise DC Mayormuriel Bowser.
‘‘It was our expectation that the additional forces would be leaving now,’’ she said, adding that the Capitol Police has had little communication with the city about its security requests. ‘‘We don’t know why additional forces have been requested until May.’’
One defence official familiar with the talks said authorities have discussed scaling back the number of troops around the Capitol, but keeping others ready for an emergency at the DC Armoury, about 3km away.
The oppressive security measures have become increasingly controversial in recent weeks, particularly among the people who have to live with them every day.
‘‘It doesn’t make sense anymore,’’ said John Kabre, who, before all that fencing went up, had a view of the Capitol from his shifts as an events co-ordinator outside of 101 Constitution Ave. ‘‘I think people are overreacting.’’
At a news conference, even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-california, played down the decision to suspend votes, arguing that the move was as much about accommodating Republicans attending an annual retreat as it was about any possible danger.
Unconcerned about the potential menace, Kabre smiled at passersby and encouraged them to enjoy the sunshine. He waved at National Guards members through the fence, some of whom he had come to recognise over the past month.
Among those on duty was Captain Dan Rogers, who had travelled to DC a few times before his New York Guard unit was deployed there on January 28.
School trips mostly, filled with the typical museum and monument stops. But now, in his off time, he’s enjoyed an insider’s view of the Capitol, escorted through the halls by people who work within them.
‘‘We’ve gotten way better tours than we had in eighth grade, that’s for sure,’’ he said.
Down by the White House, aman in a red Washington Capitals hoodie stood against the tall steel fencing that still encircles Lafayette Square as he raised his phone and peered expectantly at the camera lens. He was about to go live. David Bardash, who lives in Bowie, Maryland, is a citizen journalist for something called Patriot Party News. He and other volunteer correspondents fanned out across the district yesterday, trying – at last, in their minds – to uncover what was really going on.
The 50-year-old had come to Black Lives Matter Plaza, thinking he might find people to talk to, but as the bare branches of trees rustled in the late-afternoon wind, the square remained largely empty.
Nearby, Henry Jenkins, looked puzzled.
After hearing about the Qanon claims, he had come to the District from Charles County, Maryland, to find a counterprotest to join. Instead he saw only Bardash, holding his phone aloft.
‘‘I really expected to see more Trump people or something,’’ Jenkins said, shaking his head. 39,