White Nationalist Barbarians Stormed the Gates of the U.S. Capitol (OPINION)

Capitol rioters climb the west wall of the the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/José Luis Magana)

The white nationalist barbarians, aided and abetted by their Führer —President Donald J. Trump— stormed and entered the gates of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, January 6, 2021. The seditionists include those who brazenly entered the so-called people’s house, responsible for death, destruction and mayhem, along with their snowflake leader, who suckered them to do so from afar, lying that he would be there with them.

For the record, the proverbial gates were previously stormed and entered, legally, with the 2016 election of the nationalist barbarian in the White House and the white nationalist Congressmembers in the Senate and House of Representatives. This also includes the white nationalists embedded in all levels of government, including law federal enforcement.

In terms of those who have already been identified and arrested, where more should follow, shouldn’t all who entered the Capitol building also face murder charges? Let’s consider this scenario: Two people rob a store, where one of them kills the clerk and the other one steals the money. In this case, typically, both will be charged with different degrees of murder, apart from armed robbery and other charges. Why should those who engaged in an attempted coup, a more serious crime, be treated any differently? I’m sure if the seditionists were Brown or Black, as many others have articulated, the brutal nature of the State and its agents of suppression would’ve been on full display. If they were Muslims, this scenario would’ve provided Trump with a false pretext to invade Iran, like in the case of 9/11 with former President George W. Bush and Iraq.

As we focus our national attention on the culprits behind this attempted coup, let’s not forget the strong and powerful supporters of Trump, where they should also be held accountable (or eternally shamed at minimum), like the late Senator Joseph McCarthy, for the vitriol rhetoric and events leading up to the violent and deadly attack on the Capitol. This includes, among others, Trump’s immediate family (especially Donald Jr., Jared and Ivanka); Trump subordinates, like Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and the guy who didn’t get hugged as a kid, Stephen Miller; hopefully soon-to-be-disbarred Rudy Giuliani; immoral Republican leaders in Congress, like Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Devin Nunes (R-CA),  Jim Jordan (R-OH), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), etc.; and, let’s not forget the estimated 74 million people who voted for the most incompetent and deranged President in U.S. history.

During his rally yesterday, Trump encouraged his supporters to march on the Capitol. His personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani told them: “Let's have trial by combat.”

Within hours, rioters violently occupied the Capitol. Four people died. https://t.co/BQBWacc6fC pic.twitter.com/YGU3HqkUMn

— POLITICO (@politico) January 7, 2021

By courting, supporting and encouraging white supremist groups and militias, some of whom are well armed and trained given their police and/or military background, snowflakes like Trump and his minions at the White House and Congress are playing with fire. For instance, when Trump repeatedly says that CNN is the enemy of the people, at any time, no one should be surprised if his armed supporters seriously harm CNN reporters. In fact, given Trump’s violent rhetoric about “liberating Michigan” and targeting Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, it didn’t take long for his armed supporters to plan to kidnap her. As usual, when others do the dirty work for the snowflake Trump, he acts like an armchair mafioso, denying any link with those who follow his orders—coded or not.

In terms of pretending to be a tough guy, as I’ve written before, such as in The Hill, “[i]f he’s really a tough guy, I invite him to my old barrio—without private bodyguards, Secret Service agents and local police—to reassert his claim that Mexican immigrants constitute ‘drug dealers,’ ‘criminals’ and ‘rapists.’ If he can’t repeat these racist generalizations directly to the people he’s attacking, then he’s a coward.” I must say that I’m amazed that Trump supporters take all of the risks with jail time and bodily harm to follow the orders of their Führer, while Trump is playing golf or celebrating on January 6 , as if they’re at a Patriots football tailgate party.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mPgEOsU2YU

While I can go on and on, I’ll say end with this: Trump must not only be removed from office, he must also be arrested and prosecuted for aiding and abetting an attempted coup against the United States of America. This must be done before he pardons everyone in his criminal orbit, including himself. This includes Vice President Mike Pence, along with the remaining complicit cabinet.

One important final note when describing the Capitol as the “people’s house” that you should consider: [Despite the abhorrent attempted coup, let’s not forget that the governing elite and monied classes throughout American history have used the U.S. Capitol as a base to steal the lands of Native Americans and break treaties, enslave Black people and kill them, violently annex territory from Mexico (1848) and scapegoat their people on both sides of la frontera, engage in domestic/foreign espionage and imperialist wars, etc.

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Dr. Álvaro Huerta is an Associate Professor in Urban & Regional Planning and Ethnic & Women’s Studies at California State Polytechnic University. Among other scholarly publications, he’s the author of Reframing the Latino Immigration Debate: Towards a Humanistic Paradigm and Defending Latina/o Immigrant Communities: The Xenophobic Era of Trump and Beyond. He holds a Ph.D. in city and regional planning from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.A. in urban planning and a B.A. in history from the University of California, Los Angeles.