We may have underestimated the damage President Trump is doing on his way out the door. In addition to issuing last-minute executive orders intended to continue his policies after he leaves office, undermining confidence in the Constitution by challenging an election he lost by eight million votes and overseeing a rash of federal executions, he is encouraging rioting. Rioting? Yes. The shameful visit of The Proud Boys to DC this past weekend is a case in point.
The Proud Boys are Trump’s pet white supremacist terrorists. A large contingent of them came to Washington to support the president’s increasingly laughable efforts to overturn the election. The idea here is that while the courts (so far) are having nothing to do with Trump’s quixotic efforts to cancel the votes of millions of Americans, maybe a little terrorism would help.
Is it fair to call the Proud Boys DC handiwork “terrorism?” The FBI appears to think so. It defines a “terrorist act” as “a violent act or an act dangerous to human life, in violation of the criminal laws of the United States, or of any state, to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.” Perhaps not so curiously, while the Proud Boys were in town, the president tweeted, “Wow! Thousands of people forming in Washington (D.C.) for Stop the Steal. Didn’t know about this, but I’ll be seeing them! #MAGA.”
A helicopter identified as Marine One also flew over the assembled protestors, who were joined by infamous Infowars radio host Alex Jones and recently pardoned former Trump national security advisor, Michael Flynn. From the steps of the Supreme Court, , Flynn told the crowd, “Our sacred honor triumphs over infamy.”
Did Trump telephone the Proud Boys to invite them to Washington for a weekend of stabbing, vandalism, drinking, and racism? No evidence (so far) of that, but the Proud Boys’ head toured the White House. No evidence (so far) that Trump invited Enrique Tarrio, but Tarrio bragged of a “last-minute invitation to an undisclosed location.” The White House press office claims Tarrio was on a public tour, so it must be true. Right?
The last time I tried to get a White House tour, no tickets were available for three months. Excuse me, we are in the middle of a pandemic. Why is the White House holding tours?
In any case, if the only thing the Proud Boys did while visiting the Nation’s Capital was sightseeing, I’d be fine. Instead, there were four stabbings, assaults on police officers, and open displays of racism, among them protestors destroying “Black Lives Matter” banners hanging from various churches. Only prudent deployment of the DC police and considerable restraint on their part prevented more violence.
What will happen as the last embers of hope for the election to be overturned go cold? Will the 126 Republican congressmen, including Rep. Andy Harris, admit Biden won and urge Trump supporters to sit down and face reality? Will giants like Texas Senator Ted Cruz stop talking about the election and start working to combat the coronavirus? We can only hope.
The events in Washington this past weekend remind us that racism and intolerance are alive and well. Our democracy is under attack. Those of us who are offended by the white supremacist message of the Proud Boys and by Trumpism need to speak out. We need to be clear that White Claw chugging drunks brandishing knives and carrying “Trump 2020: No More Bullshit” are not welcome in our communities.
And when we have politicians who are part of the problem or cowardly refuse to acknowledge the Constitution and democracy, we need to vote them out before it is too late.
J.E. Dean of Oxford is a retired attorney and public affairs consultant. For more than 30 years, he advised clients on federal education and social service policy.
Reed Cushman says
Not surprising when you have religious “leaders” like Pastor Fred Barr calling our criminal president, who is flagrant re his countless sins, a Christian and saying that God sent his son to be this president. In so doing, they are promoting the thuggery of the mere husks of humanity that make up so-called militias like those who descended on Washington, DC last weekend to further the insurrection espoused by our Christian (?) Republican, impeached and loser president, to hunt isolated individuals and beat them without provocation, while wrapped in the flag. They mock masks that prevent COVID spread but wear balaclava masks to hide their cowardly criminal faces. The police are doing democracy no favor by allowing them to roam our communities like vicious yet cowardly heyenas. Police take victory bows for doing what they call “keeping the two groups separate”. That is cop-speak for letting 700 trouble seekers roam without impedance from law-enforcement or anyone else who might want to protest their actions peacefully. Ask the beaten couple and the solitary Black, man who managed to defensively knife four of the dozens of the President’s Proud Boys who were beating him nearly to death, about interpreting the First Amendment as freedom for “Christians” to make the streets unsafe for even non-protesting individuals, walking alone, just blocks from the Mad King’s bunker.
Mary Margaret Revell Goodwin says
The comments by Dick Deerin on yesterday’s article on Judge Carmichael and today’s article by J.E. Dean are both on the mark! This is why the Maryland Museum of Women’s History is doing the exhibit Enslavement to Emancipation: Voices Not Heard in January. We fail ourselves and our history when we fail to speak out as these two gentlemen have and as have all those speaking against the Talbot Boys statue on the Talbot Courthouse grounds.
T. E. Vail says
Speaking of Andy Harris, I wrote his office asking for an explanation why he was one of the 126 Republican legislators who supported the election result focused suit brought to the Supreme Court of the US. I did get an answer of sorts:
“Thank you for contacting me with your concerns. A more specific response to your concerns will be forthcoming, but in the meantime, I am pleased to announce that my Washington, D.C. office and District offices are open to serve you and the citizens of Maryland’s First Congressional District.
By contacting my Washington, D.C. office, you may request tours of the U.S. Capitol and the White House and gallery passes to watch debates on the House or Senate floor. In addition, students applying to military academies may request nominations on my website: harris.house.gov, and I am pleased to honor constituents on special occasions by presenting them with flags flown over the U.S. Capitol.”
It’s good to know that even now, tours of the seat of our struggling democracy, tours of the White House and (wow) admittance of my offspring to US military academies are all so easy to access through his office. Unfortunately, a clear and concise answer to my question is not. He really does not need to provide an answer as it’s pretty clear in and of itself! Representative Harris’ support of this shameful waste of taxpayer’s dollars is a disgrace.
L Kranz says
Andy Harris needs to go!!!