Having been fed a steady stream of lies by Donald Trump and right-wing media outlets like Fox News, many of those who stormed the US Capitol on January 6 may have genuinely believed that they were saving the American Republic from usurpers. Now that they have returned home, defeated, what will they do for the next four years?
BERKELEY – When people stormed the Bastille in Paris on July 14, 1789, their purpose was to free inmates whom they saw as political prisoners of the monarchy. And when Frenchwomen marched from Paris to Versailles that October, their goal was to force the king to return with them and live among the people.
What goal did Donald Trump’s supporters have in mind when they stormed the US Capitol on January 6? Some vandalized the Speaker of the House’s offices, and some destroyed memorials to the late civil-rights leader and congressman John Lewis. Others broke into the Senate chamber to take selfies from the presiding officer’s chair. A Florida man walked off with a podium.
To understand why they were there in the first place, we need to roll back the tape. Just before the insurrection, Trump held a “Save America Rally” in a park behind the White House, where he told his audience that:
BERKELEY – When people stormed the Bastille in Paris on July 14, 1789, their purpose was to free inmates whom they saw as political prisoners of the monarchy. And when Frenchwomen marched from Paris to Versailles that October, their goal was to force the king to return with them and live among the people.
What goal did Donald Trump’s supporters have in mind when they stormed the US Capitol on January 6? Some vandalized the Speaker of the House’s offices, and some destroyed memorials to the late civil-rights leader and congressman John Lewis. Others broke into the Senate chamber to take selfies from the presiding officer’s chair. A Florida man walked off with a podium.
To understand why they were there in the first place, we need to roll back the tape. Just before the insurrection, Trump held a “Save America Rally” in a park behind the White House, where he told his audience that: