Donald Trump’s seditious attempt to hang onto the presidency by defying the results of November’s election will reach a climax of chaos in the nation’s capital this week, both inside the halls of Congress and on the streets of Washington, D.C.
At the same time that Republican senators and congressmen say they will be contesting the certification of Joe Biden’s electoral victory in Congress, thousands of Trump supporters—ginned up on conspiracy theories and Trump’s groundless claims of election fraud, as well as his open invitation to supporters for what he promised will be a “wild” event—will be taking to the streets to protest his defeat. Given the outcomes of previous pro-Trump protests in D.C., it is virtually certain to result in violence.
The “March to Save America” protest, organized under the auspices of Women for Trump, will begin Tuesday afternoon with a 1 PM “pre-rally” at Freedom Square, near the White House. In addition to a roster of official participants—largely such far-right organizations as the Tea Party Patriots and Turning Point USA—a large contingent of unofficial participants from street-brawling groups such as the Proud Boys is also expected, as is the inevitable violence associated with them.
At both of the large pro-Trump rallies held in D.C. since the election—on November 14 and December 12—that contingent was responsible for daylong violence in the capital, including the burning of Black Lives Matter banners and the vandalization of African American churches, currently being investigated as a hate crime. Those crimes left the city’s Black community shaken, but determined to fight back.
Some of the Republicans leading the effort to stop the certification of Biden’s electoral win have been encouraging similar violence at the coming rally, most notably Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas, who told a Newsmax interviewer that the courts’ refusal to consider Texas’ lawsuit to overturn the election meant that “you gotta go the streets and be as violent as antifa and BLM.” (Gohmert made similar remarks at the November 12 “Million MAGA March” rally, suggesting that violent crowds in the streets should take down the government.)
Trump himself fanned the flames when he tweeted last week: “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!”
Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio announced on Parler last week that men from his organization would not be wearing their traditional gold-trimmed polo shirts at the event. Instead, Tarrio said, “we will be blending in as one of you. You won’t see us. You’ll even think we are you.” He also hinted that some members might dress up as black-clad antifascists. (Tarrio was arrested by Metropolitan Police on Monday on charges related to his participation in the Proud Boys vandalization of churches on December 12.)
One of the official event organizers, WildProtest.com, also intends to send protesters to the Capitol during the House and Senate votes to confirm the election results. “We the People must take to the US Capitol lawn and steps and tell Congress #DoNotCertify on #JAN6! Congress cannot certify this fraudulent Electoral College,” their website reads.
The event has become a focus of concern for local officials. "My level of anxiety is high. My preparation is even more intense than that," D.C. District Attorney Karl Racine told CBS News. The National Guard was also activated in advance of the event.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser asked people to stay away from the city on Tuesday and Wednesday. "I am asking Washingtonians and those who live in the region to stay out of the downtown area on Tuesday and Wednesday and not to engage with demonstrators who come to our city seeking confrontation, and we will do what we must to ensure all who attend remain peaceful," she tweeted.
One of the churches attacked on December 12, Metropolitan AME, announced Monday that it was filing a lawsuit against the Proud Boys for their role in the vandalization. “The Proud Boys are NOT above the law,” tweeted Kristen Clarke of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law in making the announcement.
None of this, however, has discouraged or dissuaded the rabid Trump fans planning to travel from around the country to attend the event. A bus tour featuring pro-Trump figures Diamond and Silk has been holding events in a variety of towns—such as Bowling Green, Kentucky; West Monroe, Louisiana; and Franklin, Tennessee—in order to drum up support for the march.
Elsewhere, buses are being organized to transport MAGA fanatics to the event. WNCY-TV reported on one such bus carrying at least 49 Trump supporters from Wisconsin, organized by a woman named Tamara Gasparick.
“We started the signup at 3:00, and it was literally going a person a minute,” said Shannon Charles, who was assisting the effort. “At 3:14 we had 14 people, at 3:21 we had 21.” She said a backup bus was being organized on standby.
“We truly think that we won this election,” Gasparick told WTAQ-AM. “All of the evidence is showing that.”
“We want our representatives and our president to know that we are going to stand and do something,” Gasparick added.
Experts on extremism note that the pro-Trump forces are becoming increasingly desperate the clearer that his loss becomes. “That sense of panic and urgency will be a motivator for believers to attend rallies that day,” Jared Holt of the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensics Research Center told Politico. “For these groups and their supporters, President-Elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration feels like more of an immediate threat to their agenda items.”