Domestic terrorism in D.C.
What Americans saw on television Wednesday was not peaceful protest.
It was a riot by supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump. They swarmed streets leading to the U.S. Capitol. They stormed the symbol of our democracy, knocked down security barriers and overpowered riot police. Then they ransacked the legislative chambers while senators and members of Congress took refuge wherever they could.
As of press time, one of the rioters has died of a gunshot wound; several other people were injured.
It was a security breach that overwhelmed Capitol Police, who were in a standoff with remnants of the mob well into the evening.
The unbelievable scene smacked of violence and vandalism. It also could be called domestic terrorism, intended to undermine what always has been a peaceful transfer of power in this country.
Earlier in the day, a joint session of Congress was working to certify Electoral College votes, state by state, in what normally is a genteel constitutional formality.
Some Republicans were trying to slow the process in yet another attempt to reverse an election result they didn't like.
The world has witnessed the shameful acts inside those chambers and out, as a sitting president unleashed violent extremists on the nation's capital.
U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro,
D-san Antonio, was in his office in the Rayburn House Office Building, across Independence Avenue from the Capitol.
He said his staff was directed to shelter in place.
He was unflinching in his assessment of Wednesday's events.
“The president of the United States inspired a coup attempt,” Castro said. “I've been in public service for 18 years, serving the people of San Antonio. This is the most bizarre, chaotic thing I've witnessed as a public official.”
Those involved have First Amendment rights to protest, the congressman said, but those who have committed illegal acts should be prosecuted.
Castro said he hoped “order can be restored.”
After inciting them in person and on Twitter earlier in the day, Trump went to the airwaves to ask his supporters to “go home,” while repeating unfounded claims of election fraud.
His is an alternate reality in which only he benefits from calling the election “rigged.”
The president's words from the fall campaign echoed amid the rioting.
In September, during a nationally televised debate, he addressed a white supremacist group called the Proud Boys. Challenged to repudiate the group, Trump instead called on its members to “stand back and stand by.”
Law enforcement investigations will determine who initiated or encouraged the riot, and whether the Proud Boys were involved.
Castro pointed to both Trump and his “enablers,” singling out U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, “who encouraged people to come here and behave in this way.”
“Ted Cruz should resign immediately,” Castro said.
Those who've violated laws should be prosecuted, he added, pointing to those who “stormed” the Capitol Building “and made threats against the Capitol Police and others.”
Castro didn't directly address the issue of race in the incident. But it was impossible to ignore.
A march by menacing white demonstrators didn't trigger an aggressive police response. The contrast with how police have treated people of color during some peaceful protests was unmistakable.
On June 1, amid protests over the death of George Floyd, law enforcement officers tear-gassed peaceful demonstrators in Lafayette Park near the White House so Trump could walk to St. John's Episcopal Church and pose for a photo op holding a Bible.
Before rioters reached the Capitol Wednesday, there was an air of joyfulness in the crowd. Smiling faces could be seen, because hardly any were wearing masks.
It was eerie, as is the alternative reality that brought them to Washington.
There will be an accounting for this attack on Washington, on government and on the transfer of power.
Arrests will be made. Some may even go to prison for their acts.
Politicians, too, will be held to account for what they did and didn't do, none more than the outgoing president.
For the last four years, he has fueled anger, racism and grievance.
President-elect Joe Biden was right to say democracy was “under an unprecedented assault” on Wednesday.
His appeals for decency and unity brought a semblance of hope. He said the mob represented a small number of extremists, not the country.
Many Americans feared this would happen someday. Now it will forever define Trump's legacy and that of his enablers.
Though the scenes were scary, we are not scared. Still, Jan. 20 can't come soon enough.