It won’t stop. Our leaders armed these domestic terrorists with weapons of war (which can be taken inside many statehouses legally) and then they radicalized them. They will continue to cause chaos and violence in our Capitols and in cities. This is a national security crisis.
The #CapitolRiots inspired similar insurrections at statehouses or interruptions to legislative work yesterday in Alaska, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.
These domestic terrorists are part of a growing far-right movement that used to only exist on the Internet’s fringes. Then their conspiracies were dragged into political discourse by the gun lobby, encouraged by Donald Trump, and exacerbated by coup-curious Republican officials.
The toxic mix of conspiracy theories, guns, and far-right extremism won’t go away. We’ve allowed domestic terrorists to act with impunity; to threaten and intimidate fellow Americans - legally - with weapons. And many Republican leaders have applauded these actions or ignored it.
A democracy that enables, arms and unleashes domestic terrorists to attack it from within cannot survive. And to what end? To enrich gun manufacturers? To line the pockets of Fox executives? To elect leaders who want to overthrow the will of the people they claim to represent?
We will need a national reckoning to root out everyone responsible for endangering both human lives and our nation’s democracy. We must hold accountable the officials and special interests that foment racism, hatred, chaos and violence. It must start today. It is our only hope.
