January 6th: Portrait of an American Travesty

The January 6th insurrection was an American travesty and the pinnacle of Trumpism. The vile, xenophobic, reactionary effects Donald Trump and his policies had on these Far-Right hooligans came to a deadly, super-violent head that day. The riots were responsible for seven deaths, including Capitol Hill Police officers and Trump supporters. The footage of Capitol Hill Police so grossly outnumbered by the flag waiving rabble seemed too have a heavier effect on myself and I’m sure many others watching (factcheck.org).

Besides the vicious barbarism displayed by the uber-aggressive Trumpists, we must delve into the ex president’s financial con job involving the “Stop the Steal” fundraising. It’s surely something out of the Trump playbook from years past, remember Trump University?

The Trump campaign sent out millions of emails to supporters urging them to “protect election integrity”, according to the January 6th committee. The non-existent fund raised 250 million dollars, none of which was actually used for the purpose of reversing Joe Biden’s victory.

The money would instead be spent on a newly created Political Action Committee geared towards Trump’s likely 2024 Presidential campaign, as well as, a Mark Meadow’s charity and the ………… (rolling stone.com).

As we are well aware, Donald Trump has a lengthy history of being a swindler. From his days in real estate, and desecration of the US tax system, to bilking Deutsche bank out of 340 million dollars over several decades beginning in 2005 (forbes.com).

Then there’s the ongoing battle between The Donald and the Internal Revenue Service, which Trump allegedly owes over 100 million dollars for his shady tax practices over the years. In May of this year Trump paid a fine to the tune of 110000 but still hasn’t met the conditions needed to lift a contempt of court finding, according to the New York attorney general ( CNBC.com).

The January 6th hearings first night, a made for t.v. prime time political extravaganza did succeed in presenting to the country’s audience the graphic, savage nature of that day’s insurrection.

19 million people watched on the first night, Rep. Liz Cheney received mostly positive acclaim for her compelling testimony regarding the attacks, the probability of Trump’s involvement and his unforgivable decision to not urge the crowd to stand down. (info courtesy of bloomberg.com).

Former Trump top advisor Steve Bannon’s attempt at having his criminal contempt case for ignoring a federal subpoena dropped was rejected by US district court judge Carl Nichols. Bannon’s arguments included: Donald Trump had asserted executive privilege to nullify Bannon’s need too testify, Judge Nichols also rebuffed Bannon’s claim that members of the Justice Department granted him immunity from Congressional orders to release contacts he had with Trump whilst Trump was in office. Bannon’s future regarding January 6th, and his standing as a political honcho is very much unknown but currently he’s been relatively unscathed ( politico.com).

The Proud Boys, the most infamous group of maniacs to sprout from the Trump years were founded in 2016 by Canadian far-right political commentator and writer Gavin McInnes. The Proud Boys idealogy is described as: Anti-communism, anti-immigration and anti-feminism to name a few. ( adl.org).

McInnes wound up distancing himself from the group in early 2017, shortly thereafter, under the guidance of new chairman Enrique Tarrio, the Proud Boys rebranded themselves as a patriotic, yet racist sect during “Unite the Right rallies” in 2018.

Their roles during the January 6th riots, accompanied by similar groups, the Oathkeepers and Boogoloo boys have lead too some serious criminal charges, mainly conspiracy to commit seditious acts. ( info courtesy of washingtonpost.com).

Donald Trump’s fiery speech in front of the National Mall prior to the violence was condemned for it’s intense rhetoric and comments regarding Vice President Mike Pence’s need to confirm Joe Bidens election win.

The deranged mob erected an improvised gallows pole and noose meant for Mike Pence after he was “charged” with being a traitor for only performing his Constitutional duty. I wonder what if the Proud Boys got their filthy paws on Pence or Nancy Pelosi, would they really have went through with an impromptu public execution?

How posterity judges the events of that day remains to be seen. Much of it is still undecided, until consequences are meted out to not only the rioters themselves but the ones, i.e. Trump, Bannon and even Fox News whom helped fan the flames of this travesty.

If Donald Trump manages to defy the odds stacked against him legally and with some of those in the republican party who wishes he would just disappear too run for president in 2024, what then?

The immense shadow of Trump, ( No I’m not mocking his weight), would loom over that upcoming election like a mushroom cloud of madness. And if Joe Biden dares run for reelection after the nightmare of his presidency, well a rematch between two eighty year olds with so many glaring flaws, then January 6th might wind up being the worse day in American history.

Another great site by the Dangerous Globe