Pro-Trump activists who promoted the January 6 protests that became the deadly riot of the Capitol are trying to distance themselves from future concerns as politicians and police officers prepare for further violence ahead of the inauguration.
Experts in extremism have focused on January 17, as well as the day of the inauguration and the days surrounding it, as possible flash points for violence. An Inauguration Day threat includes a “Million Billion March” that encourages Trump’s armed supporters to come down to DC. A pamphlet circulating online calling for an “armed march on Capitol Hill and all state capitals” on Jan. 17 has been cited as evidence of the protest, though it’s unclear where it originated. the steering wheel or how much traction has been gained on the right.
Capitol police officers are not taking any chances this time. House Democrats reported Monday afternoon a number of possible threats, including plans for the “largest armed protest ever to take place on U.S. soil” and an alleged plot to prevent Democrats they would reach the Capitol or kill them directly so the Republicans could take over. the government.
Democrats were also warned of a more general threat to violence against politicians and police, according to a person familiar with the information, who was first reported by HuffPost and confirmed by The Daily Beast.
So far, however, online public discussions about the alleged January 17 protests have been far less visible than the wave of conversations at pro-Trump forums that preceded the January 6 riot.
“We don’t see nearly the same level of online talks about attending these events,” said Lindsay Schubiner, program director at the Western States Center, a group that tracks extremists in the Pacific Northwest.
Schubiner added, however, that discussions about additional protests or violence that led to the inauguration may have simply shifted to less public online sites as social media companies repress extremists.
“We are in an extremely dangerous period for political violence and it is difficult to say exactly what will happen or when it may happen,” Schubiner said. “But everything we’re seeing motivates us with great concern.”
As thousands of National Guard soldiers flood into Washington, Trump supporters have suggested, without evidence, that the proposed rally on Jan. 17 is a ploy to trap MAGA fans.
The Pundit Gateway, a fake rights blog whose owner has been invited to Trump’s White House, suggested that the Jan. 17 protest was a “deep state plot” aimed at preparing the ground for the mass arrests of Trump supporters. Mark Taylor, a former firefighter who became a far-right star after receiving a “prophecy” that Trump would be elected, warned his more than 185,000 followers on Tuesday to step away from the Jan. 17 protests.
“People from any of these so-called peaceful armed protests in all the capitals of the state and on January 17 DC is a left-wing organization,” Taylor he tweeted on Tuesday. “Don’t go! It’s a trap !!”
Several Trump supporters have claimed that even the graphic design of the pamphlet, which is illustrated in red with the Statue of Liberty in the foreground, is proof that this is a scheme designed to hurt Trump and their allies.
“There’s no organizer on the list and it doesn’t look like anything a patriotic group would put up for sale,” Arizona State Representative Kelly Townsend (R) said Tuesday.
This paranoia has leaked down to the state level. A Minnesota group that recently hosted “Stop The Steal” events in the state capital sent a warning on Facebook to fans about the Jan. 17 event.
“This is an infiltration and setup tactic used to incite violence and blame us,” wrote the group, which hosted a Minnesota “Storm the Capitol” event on January 6th. “THEY DON’T GO TO CHAPTER ON SUNDAY!”
The group told The Daily Beast that it advised people to stay home on January 17th. On Facebook, the group shared posters for the Jan. 17 event and suggested they were an “anarchist” plot. These posters, however, were seriously circulated by members of the Boogaloo movement, a far-right, libertarian coalition longing for civil war. While the Boogaloo movement has been promoting the event since last month, at least some members appear to have re-evaluated themselves after the January 6 riot, with a Boogaloo news site posting a statement from alleged organizers of the event, stating that the iteration of the concentration was DC. canceled.
Fears that Trump supporters will fall into a trap — or may be involved in the violence — have intensified as the FBI and federal prosecutors prosecute more people allegedly involved in the Capitol revolt. On Tuesday, Columbia District Attorney General Michael Sherwin said the scale of the investigation was “unprecedented” for the Justice Department, saying it had authorized a “strike force” to prosecute serious sedition crimes. and conspiracy.
However, the days surrounding January 17 are also possible spider boxes across the country. The Minnesota group, which urged supporters to stay home on the 17th, said it is still planning a pro-Trump rally in the state capital on Saturday, January 16th.
These plans coincide with the January 16 event announced last month, in which organizers claim that “they will begin the process of exterminating America’s democratic ideology,” “preventing Joseph Biden, or any other Democrat, from being invested as president of the United States “of America” and “capturing and detaining all Democratic politicians, current and former” who played a role in Biden’s victory.The event’s website has gone offline, but not before users of the closed social media website Parler seize it to declare that “any force opposed” to the event “will be classified as an enemy of America and targeted as such with extreme prejudice,” foreigners or nationals “.
In Virginia, long-planned protests for “lobby day” in the state capital fell on January 18th. Last year’s lobby day attracted 22,000 gun enthusiasts, including members of far-right groups such as the Proud Boys and members of the then-embryonic Boogaloo movement. This year, Virginia Capitol Police reportedly were on high alert alleging Wednesday’s riots.
A prominent pro-gun group wrote that it would organize caravans in Richmond for the event. “There will no doubt be‘ rumors ’and other tactical uses of scare [sic] to keep people at home, but we know better, ”the group wrote online.
Left-wing activists are mobilizing doctors and homeless people ahead of the Jan. 18 event, in case violence erupts or the scene becomes unsafe for Richmond’s homeless population, an activist told The Daily Beast local.
Some of the leading figures who took part in planning protests outside Congress on Jan. 6 say they have no plans to come to Washington either. InfoWars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has said the January protests are a “false flag.”
Pro-Trump organizer Ali Alexander, who claimed to be one of the main “creators” of the January 6 protest, has been banned from financial services such as PayPal and Venmo, as well as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram after the event. Alexander’s friends distance themselves from him and ask him to leave politics altogether, according to a member of his circle.
In an email to The Daily Beast, Alexander said he urged Trump supporters to stay out of Washington during the inauguration and asserted unfoundedly that posters promoting events in Washington were democratic fabrications.
“No one should go to DC this month,” Alexander told The Daily Beast.
-Additional reports from Sam Brodey