Hundreds of police officers will be on duty around the US Capitol on Saturday. They will oversee a gathering of former President Donald Trump’s supporters. These should be similar people who forcibly occupied this seat of the US Congress on January 6 this year in an effort to reverse the electoral defeat of their Republican favorite.
This time, the Capitol is better prepared, according to the Reuters agency. It is surrounded by a black two-and-a-half-meter fence, one hundred members of the National Guard remain on standby, and security personnel carry out additional checks on passengers arriving in Washington to prevent potential violence.
The Assembly is called “Justice for J6” and its participants are demanding a fair trial for the people accused of riots at the January 6 Chapter. Organizers said they expected a peaceful course, but U.S. Police Chief J. Thomas Manger told reporters on Friday that they had “noted some threats of violence” between Trump supporters and opponents.
Trump’s radicals
More than 600 people have been charged with participating in the January 6 violence following the speech of the defeated presidential candidate. At the time, Trump reiterated his false claims that his defeat in the election that led to incumbent President Joe Biden was the result of widespread fraud. These allegations have been contradicted by judgments of several courts, state election officials, and even members of the Trump administration themselves.
That day, rioters fought the police, beat them with sticks and metal barricades, made their way through the windows to the Capitol building, and walked down the corridors toward the lawmakers. Some were equipped with weapons, others wore handcuffs or even noose. Videos from security cameras and later reconstructions of the events showed that lawmakers had retreated to safety just moments before a crowd burst into their courtroom. Vice President Mike Pence was particularly at risk, at the time formally approving the election results, which Republican radicals saw as treason.
Four people died that day – one woman who was the first to reach the door of the boardroom was shot, and three others died of other injuries. A policeman from the Capitol, who was attacked by protesters, died the day after the incidents, and four police officers, who also took part in the defense, later committed suicide.
Nearly 50 people have so far confessed to the allegations of violence, and nine have admitted to having committed a crime. The vast majority of defendants have since been released and are awaiting trial, with about 75 others still in custody, according to court documents.
Among the accused are members of the right-wing groups Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and Three Percenters. These are radical armed militias, whose violent behavior, however, is condemned by only a handful of moderate Republicans. Critics include Adman Kinzinger, a member of the House of Representatives. “It is ironic that the assembly is calling for justice for the events of January 6. “I think the justice would have been the indictment and dismissal of Donald Trump at the time,” he said. He himself was one of the few Republicans to vote to accuse Trump of inciting violence. In the end, this did not happen, and the former US president served his full term.
On the contrary, the organizer of the current assembly, Matt Braynard, an analyst at the Republican Party, is a great supporter of Trump and a supporter of his claim that the election was stolen from him. He claims that “January 6 justice” means that people who are still in custody due to riots will be released. He also believes that the vast majority of defendants should be acquitted.
– .
