Did pro-Trump protestors get off easy yesterday in Washington protests?

If the police are literally letting the bad guys in the front door maybe some questions should be asked don’t you think?

No one is going to “defund” the Capitol Police but it seems clear some are not doing their jobs. Why would anyone want to keep them on the payroll?

Not that I think my opinion is better than theirs, but if you do a worldwide trawl you’ll always find an expert with an opinion which fits the article you are writing. And

“These are not subtle principles” for managing demonstrations, “and they transfer to every situation,”

seems like a ridiculous oversimplification and doesn’t take into consideration making wrong predictions for the size and nature of a demonstration. And if you’re biased and sympathize with the message and the protestors, making those wrong predictions is more likely.

Then again, maybe I’m wrong and the Capitol police deliberately set themselves up to fail despite correctly assessing that might lead to some of them having their heads bashed in with heavy objects.

If that is your objection then by the same token, in a worldwide trawl, you should be able to find an expert with an opposite opinion.

So…find one. And we can then argue whose expert is better.

You realize there’s a difference between a journalist looking for a quote as part of their job and contacting various experts, and me participating in an internet discussion, yes?

But here’s an article on the response where at least two US police officials echo pretty much what I wrote: Capitol Police reject federal help

The claim of “interference” by the anonymous French police official seems implausible to me compared to complacency and sympathy with the protestors.

No. But they could be a cover band for the Village People, verdad?

  1. I believe it was an attempted coup—a feebly attempted one, mostly by cosplayer types who weren’t doing anything else that day. Not a well-organized strike force, but it’s still like playing with your dad’s gun—dangerous.

I don’t want to underestimate the enemy. I wonder if the place was swept for electronic listening devices, if any sensitive documents went missing, etc. They say if your house is burglarized, it’s common to feel violated. That’s how this feels. That reminds me that I should take photos and such of things around here in case.

From last June:

Another article said she had plaza renamed for BLM, like giving him the finger. So I figured there’s a pissing match and this struggle for jurisdiction or whatever. Once the NG was needed how long did Trump wait to send them? He said “immediately” but This says that wasn’t true.

I like the way you think. I’ve known parents who say “Before you give your answer, make sure it’s not a lie because it’ll take two lies to cover that one,” at which point kids will admit the truth. Apparently that’s never happened to DJT. At some points these lies have to contradict and I hope that’s brought up, in bold letters.

I really wanted to see them bust some heads. But they were outnumbered…and some of the mob had guns. Maybe more had concealed guns. How many rounds did the PD have? What if the mob starts shooting back? Probably wise to keep the guns holstered. If I’m a cop that day, I’m wondering who sold us out, putting us in a dangerous situation without sufficient backup etc. Later, my second thought, would be that possibly we had major incompetence, and it wasn’t intentional. But my first answer is usually my best one.

That would be epic. “Mr. President you were all full of outrage then, but now you want to pardon these folks?”

I’ll google definitions.
Insurrection: a violent uprising against an authority or government.
Coup: a sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government.

ISTM these people wanted to get control of the vote, which would determine the leader, keeping their guy in power. Rather than knocking out a leader, they’re trying to pre-emptively knock out the leader-elect, but they’re still aiming to select a leader by force.

Po-tay-to, Po-tah-to? Or do you think they wanted to force another election?

Yep. Nashville crossed my mind as well and I bet the cops considered it.

I’m reading article that @Whack-a-Mole posted. If the Cap Police knew they were overrun, why did they refuse help? For instance:

The Justice Department’s offer for FBI support as the protesters grew violent was rejected by the Capitol Police, according to the two people familiar with the matter. They were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

FWIW PolitiFact thinks the responses were notably different:

Therefore, an insurretion and perhaps an attempted coup.

They said they were trying to “stop the steal,” and they were looking for Pence, right? So they hoped to change the election by force. Granted, many were bumbling and a lot acted like tourists, so we were lucky in that respect.

Then there’s this…

WASHINGTON — On Dec. 8, someone made a simultaneous transfer of 28.15 bitcoins — worth more than $500,000 at the time — to 22 different virtual wallets, most of them belonging to prominent right-wing organizations and personalities.

Now cryptocurrency researchers believe they have identified who made the transfer, and suspect it was intended to bolster those far-right causes. U.S. law enforcement is investigating whether the donations were linked to the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol.

I don’t assume they went for a “one punch” solution where they’d get everything they wanted from one blow. Maybe it didn’t change the outcome but it garnered attention, possibly drew new converts, put their enemies on the defensive, makes some officials in Congress think twice before impeaching, etc. They’ve certainly stirred the shit.

28.15 bitcoins are worth more than a half a million? Sure be my lucky day to find a few of those on the curb!

Amen! They are using this opportunity to cleanse themselves of the Trump stench. Now that corporate America sees a potential disturbance in their profits they are turning their backs on Trump.

Googled it

Today it’s quoting $39,500 per. Multiplied by 28.15= $1,111,925. Holy shit!

Prior to November people carrying Trump signs were citizens expressing themselves.

After the election carrying a Trump sign to ‘stop the steal’ is insurrection.

A protest to overthrow the Biden government is sedition and not a Constitutional Right. Our only recourse is to use the right-wing ‘Patriot Act’, declare all participants in the march enemy combatants and strip them of citizenship. Transport them to Guantanamo and keep them in separate cages from their children. Torture them to determine the ‘facts’.

We must also purge the Congress of Fellow Travelers. Defending Trumpists is sedition. Sadly our only defense may be to become them.

If they were to fight, then being OUTSIDE the Capitol showed that the Antifa-types were not willing to fight nor help on the so-called “setup” INSIDE the Capitol. So, it was not likely that they were Antifa.

This also follows when one realizes that when the FBI (Still with the same Republican director appointed by Trump) posted the pictures of the guys that did go inside or attempted to get in, they were not assigned any allegiance in the captions of the pictures, and yet all the ones that were identified turn to be… Trump followers.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-senate-fbi-extremists-new/no-evidence-u-s-capitol-rioters-belong-to-antifa-movement-fbi-chief-wray-testifies-idUSKCN2AU22P

How did you see them if you weren’t actually there at the Capitol?

Well, that would include FOX and OAN, so who do you listen to?

Killing the messenger is the joke so stop that, do you have any reply of what they relayed about what FBI director Chris Wray told the Senate under oath?

I have to note also that you are not willing to look at how flawed was your logic by putting Antifa OUTSIDE the Capitol.

Man Oh Man! Trump and his supporters wouldn’t recogonize personal responsibility if it cuffed their hands behind their backs and read them a Miranda warning.