Is America safe for democracy again?
The mob attack on the Capitol raises a lot of questions, and we the people deserve answers.
Tattered hopes for a peaceful transition of power in the world’s most powerful democracy now rest on the shoulders of state and federal law enforcement agencies bolstered by 20,000 armed National Guard soldiers recently deployed to the U.S. capital.
That’s four times the number of troops the United States has in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. Authorities say the deployment is needed to ensure President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office without the violence and mayhem that erupted in last week’s mob attack on the Capitol.
The military has set up city checkpoints, the governors of Virginia and Maryland and the mayor of Washington, D.C., are urging people to stay away and Airbnb says it is canceling all reservations made in the metro area for inauguration week, a time in which we should be uniting behind new leadership and seeking common goals.
Instead, most events will be viewed remotely and those in attendance will operate under the heightened scrutiny of the police, Secret Service, FBI and military.
How did we get here? That’s just one of the questions many Americans have in the wake of the Capitol riot, and many of the answers have been hard to come by.
It was almost a week before anyone from a federal agency stepped forward to brief the public. Although his statements Wednesday urging supporters to avoid violence were welcome, President Donald Trump, who was impeached on Wednesday for his role in inciting the attack, has done almost nothing to restore confidence in peace and order.
Authorities must provide answers and assurances to these questions:
Will the Jan. 20 inauguration be safe?
The slow response and faulty communication that led to the breaches in defending the Capitol on Jan. 6 must be corrected.
The images of thousands of armed soldiers patrolling the streets of our capital are jarring, even heartbreaking. But the show of force is necessary in the wake of the insurrection in the halls of Congress. There are legitimate concerns that the threat is far from over.
The nation and the world need to see the free and fair election of Biden accepted and recognized without further disruption or violence. In a two-week span of insurrection, impeachment and inauguration, Americans need to know they are safe.
How much of the mob’s attack was planned?
The Washington Post reported that the FBI had information before the riot that “painted a dire portrait of dangerous plans, including individuals sharing a map of the complex’s tunnels, and possible rally points for would-be conspirators to meet.”
“An online thread discussed specific calls for violence to include stating ‘Be ready to fight. Congress needs to hear glass breaking, doors being kicked in, and blood from their BLM and Pantifa slave soldiers being spilled. Get violent. Stop calling this a march, or rally, or a protest,” according to information obtained by the FBI. “Go there ready for war. We get our President or we die. NOTHING else will achieve this goal.”
A spontaneous mob attack is bad enough but planned operations by organized groups is a chilling prospect, especially in regard to the safety of the inauguration and all government functions going forward.
“As Secretary, I am concerned about any form of violent extremism,” acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf wrote in the October 2020 Homeland Threat Assessment. “However, I am particularly concerned about white supremacist violent extremists who have been exceptionally lethal in their abhorrent, targeted attacks in recent years.”
The body of the report concludes: “Ideologically motivated lone offenders and small groups pose the most likely terrorist threat to the Homeland, with Domestic Violent Extremists presenting the most persistent and lethal threat.”
Now is the time to take the threats seriously.
Why were the white rioters treated so differently than Black groups protesting for social justice?
The images of white protesters confronting police, brandishing weapons and pushing past barriers at the Capitol are in stark contrast to the scenes of heavily armed officers responding aggressively to those marching to protest the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others.
The scenes of white protesters beating a police officer with poles bearing an American flag are a clear sign that accommodating white protesters on Capitol Hill was wrong. Many law enforcement agencies, including the Capitol Police, have a disturbing history of explicit and implicit racial bias. This must be confronted and corrected.
Writing an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle on Thursday, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, after learning that one of his own officers had been among the protesters who invaded the Capitol, urged vigilance against implicit bias.
“All true American patriots must confront racism, white supremacy and authoritarianism with the same vigor they attack threats from left-wing and foreign extremists,” Acevedo wrote.
This becomes even more crucial if white supremacist groups are found to have played a role in an organized assault on Congress.
That’s why Americans must have answers. A full investigation of these events and more are urgent.
The world is watching. Our fellow Americans are watching. What happens in the capital between now and Jan. 20 will reveal just how badly damaged our democracy has been since Election Day. We’ll also see in real time how successful our nation will be in beginning to repair that damage. A peaceful inauguration of the new president is a necessary first step, and the key to a functioning democracy.