Yes, we had a hotly contested election full of illegal and seditious fuckery. That was bad enough. The big thing on my mind is who started that riot on January 6. Was it an attempt at a violent insurrection, plotted by Trump and members of the Republican Party?
Magic 8-ball says it is likely. We have three Congressional big fish on the line right now; Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs and Mo Brooks. They were in touch with Stop The Steal founder Ali Alexander before January 6. Alexander, through his lawyers, relates:
‘Ali Alexander, who founded the pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” movement and attended the rally that preceded the Capitol attack, told congressional investigators that he recalls “a few phone conversations” with Rep. Paul Gosar and a text exchange with Rep. Mo Brooks about his efforts in the run-up to Jan. 6, his lawyers confirmed in a late Friday court filing.
Per Alexander’s attorneys Jonathon Moseley and Paul Kamenar, members of Congress may have been on an organizing call with him in early January. Several were invited but he did not take attendance, the lawyers said. They also said Alexander “testified that he had phone conversations with Rep. Brooks’ staff about a ‘Dear Colleague’ letter and how his activists could be helpful.”’
‘Alexander also told the Jan. 6 House select committee that he spoke to Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) in person “and never by phone, to the best of his recollection,” his lawyers say.’
Alexander was a major inciter on social media, priming his followers for violence:
The Daily Beast reported that “Alexander led a host of activists in ratcheting up the rhetoric” before January 6, and that Alexander’s posts “grew more menacing” as the date approached. Alexander tweeted on December 7, 2020, that he would “give [his] life for this fight”, a tweet that was retweeted by the Arizona Republican Party with the addition, “He is. Are you?” ProPublica identified a December 23 Parler post of Alexander’s, in which he wrote “If D.C. escalates … so do we”, as “one of scores of social media posts welcoming violence” before the attack.
He also incited violence at the rally, which led to the siege:
Alexander was scheduled to speak on January 5 at Freedom Plaza, just west of the White House.The Guardian named Alexander as among the people active in inciting the crowd outside the Capitol on January 6, leading chants of “victory or death”. At 4:30 p.m. on January 6, about two hours after rioters entered the Capitol building, Alexander posted a video of himself looking out on a crowd outside the Capitol, in which he said, “I don’t disavow this. I do not denounce this.”
Ali Alexander and his movement came to Washington looking for a fight. A big one. So the question must be: did those three Congressional bozos have anything to do with planning or aiding a true-blue insurrection?