The Coup Evidence is Damning (February/March 2021 | Volume: 66, Issue: 2)

The Coup Evidence is Damning

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Authors: Lucian K. Truscott IV

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February/March 2021 | Volume 66, Issue 2

Republican senators who have conveniently forgotten the events of January 6 should be made to watch to videos of every moment of the attack on the Capitol.  

Last night a television pundit said something so remarkable, I almost threw the remote at the screen. “The further we get from the events of January 6,” she observed, “the more difficult it becomes to get Republicans senators to vote to convict.”

What?  The comment was made off-handedly, as if everyone should understand why it matters that time has elapsed since Trump incited a riot that attempted to nullify the election and take over the government by force of a coup.

But as absurd as it was, she made a valid point:  Republicans are hoping the passage of time will cancel what Trump did. They just want the whole assault-on-the-Capitol thing to go away. In the case of Mitch McConnell, it’s interrupting his plans to obstruct Biden’s agenda. For sycophants like House minority leader Kevin McCarthy and Freedom Caucus ringleader Jim Jordan, continuing to defend Trump puts a pin in their ambitions to move up in Republican ranks. 

The “Fight for Trump” video released by JustSecurity.org provides a dramatic timeline of events after President Trump exorted a crowd in from the of the White House.
The “Fight for Trump” video provides a dramatic timeline of events after President Trump urged a crowd to "stop the steal."

The challenge faced by the House managers when they present their case against Donald Trump two weeks from now will be making the assault on our Constitution and citadel of government feel as real as it was when it happened.

The simple facts ought to be enough: Trump whipped up a mob of his followers and sent them down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol to stop what was taking place there that day.

In a joint session of congress, Vice President Pence was presiding over the certification of the election that would send Joe Biden to the White House in just two short weeks. He told the mob all about it. He singled out Pence as the one who, in Trump’s estimation, was not following his oath to the Constitution by stopping the certification and declaring Trump the winner.

Donald Trump challenged followers to “remember this day forever.” House impeachment managers should not let members of the Senate forget.

The house managers could begin their case by playing the “Fight for Trump” video recently released by JustSecurity.org. It’s only 10 minutes long, but making use of cell phone video taken from Parler and other right-wing sources, the video presents shocking and disgusting evidence of what the mob intended to do, and why they intended to do it. They “stormed the Capitol,” in the words of one of the insurgents, because “we were sent by Donald Trump.”

In fact, a chant goes up that lasts almost a minute: “Fight for Trump! Fight for Trump! Fight for Trump!” the crowd