Many of Donald Trump’s most dogmatic supporters see a massive protest in Washington, DC, on Jan. 6, just two weeks before the opening day of 2021, as his last chance to interrupt President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. But for the president himself, it’s one more day to complain.
Two people familiar with the matter say that in recent days, Trump has told advisers and associates that he wants to continue fighting in court on Jan. 6 if members of Congress, as expected, end up certifying the results of the University.
“As you can see, it’s: Why should I let this go? … How would this benefit me?” said one of the sources, who has spoken at length with Trump about the post-election activities to nullify the decisive victory of his Democratic opponent.
The exact plans of the president for the events of January 6 remain unclear and it has been customary for him to support these rallies or protests through enthusiastic-sounding tweets, only to stop doing much more afterwards. Since last week, Trump has asked certain aides and allies what they think would be good ideas to mark the occasion, such as a speech, a flyover or a recorded video, according to sources.
The day should not be without drama. Several House Republicans, as well as Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), have signed a quixotic effort destined to fail to oppose the certification of election college results. Attendees at Wednesday’s rally want to pressure more Republicans to join the effort or even literally prevent Democrats from reaching Congress.
“He has to block Dem i [Republicans in Name Only]”He said a planning chart posted on the pro-Trump forum” The Donald, “which showed a map of key streets around Congress that protesters want to obstruct.” There are 535 politicians and about 3,500 guards. “
On the same day, protesters are scheduled to gather in the northeast corner of the Capitol complex, where they will hear a list of speakers including Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Trump Adviser Roger Stone and the elected representative Marjorie. Taylor Greene (R-GA), who has supported the QAnon conspiracy theory. Trump has promoted the protest on Twitter, urging his followers to attend.
“Be there, it will be wild!” Trump he tweeted on December 19th.
The White House, the president’s legal team, and spokesmen for the Trump campaign did not comment on the story. But among Trump’s most devoted followers, the idea that he would continue to fight even after Day 6 is not at all obvious.
“You can’t give up,” MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a Trump ally who has funded and spoken out in various efforts to challenge the 2020 election, told The Daily Beast. [around the president] don’t end up standing, they’re as bad as the people who tried to commit the crime. “
For Lindell, the push to nullify election results is not just a matter of politics, but also of religion.
“God chose Donald Trump for eight years, not four,” he said, adding that “even if Biden is inaugurated, there is no prescription [on election theft]. Yes, I will continue to investigate this, [even if he’s sworn in], and I will not stop trying to get this to the American people. “
While others have not spoken in so many theological tones, they have shown no less vigor in defending the challenge of Trump’s results. In an appearance on an online talk show, Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn predicted that millions of people would show up on Jan. 6. This prediction seems destined to badly overestimate the actual number of attendees, following a previous November rally in Washington protesting Trump’s electoral defeat attracted, at best, tens of thousands of people to Washington.
The Jan. 6 rally comes after two previous Washington protests in November and December failed to save the Trump election or stop the near-perfect record of defeats in his campaign courtroom. But the mood of the protesters before the January 6 protest has become even more desperate.
Fleshy Trumps from all over the country have organized his trip to Washington at the “The Donald” forum. One of the hottest topics on the site is how protesters can bring weapons to DC, which would be considered a local crime in almost all circumstances under Washington’s strict gun laws. Others have talked about breaking into federal buildings or committing violence against police officers trying to prevent them from assaulting Congress.
“I’m thinking it’s going to be a literal war that day,” he read a popular comment posted last Wednesday. “Where we will attack offices and physically eliminate and even kill all DC traitors and reclaim the country.”
Both the November and December rallies in Washington suffered violence, especially after the night. And that is likely to be the case at the next rally as well. Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio claimed in a post on the conservative social media network Parler that some Proud Boys would dress in black to disguise themselves as left-wing “antifa” protesters.
“Be careful, Jan. 6 – you won’t know who the fuck is by your side,” prominent proud guy Joe Biggs said in a video posted to Parler.
However, supporters of the protests suffered a setback on Monday when the Harrington Hotel, a budget hotel in the country’s capital, revealed it would be closed during the protest. The hotel and its bar, Harry’s, have become MAGA activity centers in the city, even after the bar was fined for violating COVID-19 restrictions after being full of fans. of Trump. But both the hotel and the bar announced plans to close around the rally, just weeks after four people were stabbed near the bar following a pro-Trump event on December 12th.
In response, Trump supporters smoked online and came up with unorthodox plans to find other bedrooms, claiming they would camp in city parks despite the winter weather.
“May God have his revenge at the Harrington Hotel,” Ali Alexander, one of the main organizers of Wednesday’s rally, said on Monday.