https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/01/14/burns-j14.html
~~ posted for dmorista ~~
More details are beginning to emerge confirming that last Wednesday's coup attempt was planned in advance in coordination with Republican officials, Capitol police and fascist sympathizers in the military-intelligence apparatus. At the same time, additional signs that far-right elements are planning a second coup in the lead-up to January 20 underscore the urgent necessity for workers and students to begin preparations for a political general strike.
On Wednesday, the Daily Beast reported a warning bulletin put out by the Secret Service identifying a planned Boogaloo rally to be held on January 17 in Washington, DC. The far-right movement is populated by former and active police and military members, who seek to start a second Civil War in order to usher in a fascist state.
The Secret Service bulletin also warned that fascists plan to rally on January 20 for what they call the “Million Militia March” in Washington. For both events, prospective attendees are encouraged to bring weapons.
It has previously been reported that at least three US Capitol Police officers have been suspended while at least a dozen more are under investigation for their role in last Wednesday’s attempted putsch. A running tally of law enforcement participation in the coup compiled by Jonathan Ben-Menachem, writer at The Appeal, has identified 28 police from 12 different states as having taken part in the rally.
While ample video evidence has already surfaced of police removing barriers and goading supporters of President Donald Trump into the Capitol, on Wednesday the Boston Globe reported that panic buttons installed in Democratic Representative Ayanna Pressley’s office had been “torn out,” prior to Wednesday’s attempted coup.
“Every panic button in my office had been torn out—the whole unit,” Sarah Groh, Pressley’s chief of staff, told the Globe. Groh alleges she had used them before, and had not switched offices since the last time they were used. Groh, along with Pressley and her husband, were eventually shuffled to several different “secure locations.” Groh recalled to the Globe that the group tried to remain calm throughout the ordeal, but it was difficult because they did not know who the officers were escorting them or if they could be trusted.
The National Guard will increase the number of troops in DC from 15,000 to 20,000 in the coming days. Over 6,600 soldiers have already arrived, with photos emerging of soldiers carrying weapons outside the Capitol Complex. Another photo captured a Guardsman wearing a “thin blue line” patch, popular among fascists and Trump supporters, on his uniform.
During a Tuesday night Facebook live-stream, New Jersey Democrat Mikie Sherrill claimed that she saw Republican representatives giving “reconnaissance” tours to pro-Trump groups in the Capitol building the day before the attempted coup.
On Wednesday, Sherrill, along with 30 other House Democrats, signed a letter demanding an “investigation” into the “suspicious” visitors that were allowed in the building on January 5. The letter was addressed to the Acting House Sergeant-at-Arms as well as the acting Senate Sergeant-at-Arms and the US Capitol police. All of these agencies have elements that have been implicated in the coup plot, ensuring that any investigation will protect the ringleaders from any significant repercussions of exposure.
In the letter demanding an investigation, the representatives noted that the “visitors encountered by some of the Members of Congress on this letter appeared to be associated with the rally at the White House the following day,” and that the group seemed “to have an unusually detailed knowledge of the layout of the Capitol Complex. The presence of these groups within the Capitol Complex was indeed suspicious.”
In a viral social media video, one woman with a bullhorn is seen and heard giving detailed instructions to rioters who had broken into the Capitol. “There’s also two doors in the other room, one in the rear and one in the right, when you go in, so you should probably coordinate together if you are going to take this building,” she tells the mob.
As part of the effort of the Democratic Party to cover-up the plans of their “Republican colleagues,” Sherrill refused to comment to Politico as to the identity of the lawmakers involved or to describe the “suspicious” activity she witnessed.
In a similar vein, Democratic Representative Tim Ryan of Ohio also refused to publicly name Trump’s co-conspirators, telling a reporter that he’s aware of “a couple” of names of complicit representatives, but that he would wait to release them “to make sure we get verification.” Ryan said he had passed the names “to the authorities” last Wednesday, the night of the coup.
Democratic Colorado Representative Jason Crow also told the New York Times on Wednesday that he had requested an investigation by the Government Accountability Office into whether members of Congress played a role in inciting the insurrectionists who attacked the Capitol.
“To the extent there were members of the House that were complicit, and I believe there were, we will pursue appropriate remedies including expulsion and a prohibitions from holding elective office for the rest of the their lives,” Crow told the Times.
Three Republican congressmen who are likely to be named include the organizers for the “Stop the Steal” rally that was held on January 6 in DC: Arizona representatives Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar, as well as Alabama representative Mo Brooks. The three congressmen were named in a December Periscope video by Ali Alexander, a far-right activist and organizer of “Stop the Steal.”
“We four schemed up of putting maximum pressure on Congress while they were voting,” Alexander said. The purpose of the mob was to “change the hearts and the minds of Republicans who were in that body, hearing our loud roar from outside.” In a statement to the Washington Post, a spokesman for Biggs said that the congressman had never been in contact with Alexander or any other protesters and denied he helped organize the rally.
This is not a credible statement. The Arizona Republic had previously reported that Biggs spoke at December 19 “Stop the Steal” rally that was hosted and promoted by Alexander, who even had a graphic made for the event, which was held at the Arizona state capitol. In addition to Alexander, Congressman Andy Biggs is featured on the poster. The official Arizona Republican Twitter account also previously endorsed a tweet from Ali in which he claimed he would sacrifice himself in order to overthrow the constitution.
These details must be investigated by Congress, exercising its subpoena power to force those involved to testify under penalty of perjury, and to bring their communications into public light in order to expose the ongoing plot.
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