When looking for major events in modern American history that would be easy to whitewash, the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol would appear to be near the bottom of the list. The riot was simply too well understood to be recharacterized as anything other than what it was: insurrectionist violence, fueled by partisan lies, targeting the American seat of government for the purposes of helping a defeated presidential candidate claim illegitimate power. The indelible video and images were simply too powerful to ignore or forget. The rioters on the Senate floor. The guns drawn at the entry to
When looking for major events in modern American history that would be easy to whitewash, the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol would appear to be near the bottom of the list. The riot was simply too well understood to be recharacterized as anything other than what it was: insurrectionist violence, fueled by partisan lies, targeting the American seat of government for the purposes of helping a defeated presidential candidate claim illegitimate power. The indelible video and images were simply too powerful to ignore or forget. The rioters on the Senate floor. The guns drawn at the entry to the House chamber. The noose displayed on a gallows. The “hang Mike Pence” chants. The plastic zip-tie handcuffs. The elected officials running to safety. The Confederate flag that never reached Capitol Hill during the Civil War, but which was carried down congressional hallways in January 2021. A rioter grinning with apparent pride as he put his foot on the speaker of the House’s desk. The insurrectionists breaking into the building, climbing its walls, violently clashing with law enforcement, all while Trump flags waved around them. Just as important, there were no ambiguities surrounding Donald Trump, his public pleas for his supporters to join him in the nation’s capital, or the preriot remarks he delivered to a group of radicalized followers at the Ellipse, against the backdrop of the White House. “You’ll never take back our country with weakness,” the president declared.1 “You ha...
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