IN THE WAKE of the shocking attack
on Capitol Hill, a new myth began taking root in Trumpistan.
The thousands of rioters we
saw, dressed like Trump fans, were not Trump fans. The dread Antifa had struck
again. The president’s loyal defenders immediately began road testing that lie.
“If Antifa was there,” former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer suggested,
“we need to root it out and to make sure that that’s called out because it
shouldn’t be blamed on groups that weren’t responsible.”
____________________
“You, we, are the law-abiding citizens of this country.”
Mark Levin, wrongly reassuring Trump supporters
____________________
Such as people in red MAGA hats, carrying Trump flags. (It was good to see that Mr. Spicer hadn’t lost his talent for bullshitting and obfuscation.)
“I heard those reports, too, about possible Antifa infiltration,” said Newsmax host Chris Calcedo, during an interview with…Mike Lindell, of all people. Lindell could only frown and shake his head in disgust.
Hannity really wanted to know who the rioters were.
It was obvious from the start.
On Fox News, Lou Dobbs noted
that there had been “reports of instigators.” Sean Hannity explained, “We also
knew that there’s always bad actors that will infiltrate crowds.” Laura
Ingraham defended the mob that gathered to surround Capitol Hill, insisting that
the “an overwhelming majority of them, more than 99%, had to be, were peaceful,
but because of a small contingent of loons, these patriots have been unfairly
maligned.” Even better, the Washington Times reported that XRVision, a
company that markets facial recognition software, had scanned the members of
the mob who stormed the building. Yep! They were Antifa scum!
Rep. Matt Gaetz, that rare politician
who can match Trump for mendacity, heard the news and could hardly wait to
stand up in the House of Representatives and tell all his colleagues the good
news. Just hours after the attack, as lawmakers reassembled for business, Gaetz
insisted, “some of the people who breached the Capitol
today were not Trump supporters. They were masquerading as Trump supporters and
in fact, were members of the violent terrorist group Antifa.”
See! Trump’s “Law & Order” fans would never
break the law. Or, if they did, Trump would pardon them all.
Gaetz smirked as he spoke, because that’s the
only expression that registers on his face, and cited the story in the Washington
Times, and the proof supplied by XRVision. So the myth was born. The myth took root. The people who
stormed the halls of Congress on January 6, were not Trump supporters at all.
They were just America-hating, flag-burning vermin.
XRVision promptly notified the
Times that they had no idea what the newspaper was talking about.
The Times had no choice
but to issue a retraction,
noting, that “an earlier version” of the story they had published and the
dimwitted Rep. Gaetz had happily cited, “incorrectly
stated that XRVision” had “identified Antifa members among rioters who stormed
the Capitol Wednesday. XRVision did not identify any Antifa members. The Washington
Times apologizes to XRVision for the error.”
It didn’t matter. The lie
spread. And lie became myth. It has often been said that people believe what
they want to believe. More apt to say that people believe what they must. Faced
with bleak evidence of what they had become, supporters of the president had to
tell themselves that what they witnessed on January 6, was not what they had become.
Mark Levin, host of a nightly show on Fox News, condemned the rioters, as any
sane person would.
Then he assured his audience, Trump
lovers all, “None of you had anything to do with it….You,
we, are the law-abiding citizens of this country.”
Greg Kelly, a top host on Newsmax, took one
look at that vast MAGA crowd that gathered to hear Trump speak that fateful day.
That vast throng, wearing Trump
hats, waving Trump flags, and gathered to “Stop the Steal” as their banners
proclaimed, yes, those were Trump fans.
Patriots, all.
When people in that crowd
roared approval, when the president told them to march to Capitol Hill and
fight like hell – no, no, no. Those weren’t Trump supporters who marched. Whose
feet started to shuffle. Kelly looked at the Trump hats on their heads. He
looked at the Trump flags they used to break out windows and crack cops over
the heads. “These people don’t look like Trump supporters,”
he reassured Trump supporters who looked exactly like those people did.
“Trump supporters,” he added, “don’t do these
things.”
On his show, Sean Hannity feigned confusion. “I’d
like to know who the agitators were,” he said.
It was obvious from the start.
*
FACTS MATTER. Evidence counts.
Or it should. So, let’s consider the people who have been arrested and charged so far.
Many of the insurrectionists told reporters on the scene and investigators
in coming days that they had answered the call to “save the country,” issued by
President Trump and his enabling pals.
(Sean
Hannity, for one.)
Among those taken into custody, for example, we had:
…Lonnie Leroy Coffman, 70, an
Alabama grandfather who drove to Washington to attend Trump’s “Save America
Rally” in a red GMC Sierra pickup packed with an M4 assault rifle, multiple
loaded magazines, three handguns and 11 Mason jars filled with homemade napalm,
according to court filings.
His grandson, Brandon Coffman,
told the [Associated Press] on Friday his grandfather was a Republican who had
expressed admiration for Trump at holiday gatherings. He said he had no idea
why Coffman would show up in the nation’s capital armed for civil war.
And we had this guy:
Also facing federal charges is
Cleveland Grover Meredith Jr., a Georgia man who in the wake of the election
had protested outside the home of Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, whom Trump had
publicly blamed for his loss in the state. Meredith drove to Washington last
week for the “Save America” rally but arrived late because of a problem with
the lights on his trailer, according to court filings that include
expletive-laden texts.
“Headed to DC with a (s — ) ton
of 5.56 armor-piercing ammo,” he texted friends and relatives on Jan. 6, adding
a purple devil emoji, according to court filings. The following day, he texted
to the group: “Thinking about heading over to Pelosi (C —’s) speech and putting
a bullet in her noggin on Live TV.” He once again added a purple devil emoji,
and wrote he might hit her with his truck instead. “I’m gonna run that (C —)
Pelosi over while she chews on her gums….Dead (B —) Walking. I predict that
within 12 days, many in our country will die.”
Meredith, who is white, then
texted a photo of himself in blackface. “I’m gonna walk around DC FKG with
people by yelling ‘Allahu ak Bar’ randomly.”
Someone involved in the group text grabbed screenshots of the
threats and contacted the F.B.I.
Agents tracked the would-be assassin to a Holiday Inn not far
from the Capitol shortly after. There, they “found a compact Tavor X95 assault
rifle, a 9mm Glock 19 handgun and about 100 rounds of ammunition, according to
court filings. The agents also seized a stash of THC edibles and a vial of
injectable testosterone.” Just about the perfect mix if you had half-baked
dreams of mayhem in mind.
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