House Democrats were briefed by law enforcement Monday about three “horrifying” and “chilling” plots against the United States.
According to Huffpost, one of the plots involved surrounding the Capitol, the White House, and the Supreme Court to prevent Democrats (and some Republicans) from entering. There is also concern some of the Democratic lawmakers would be assassinated.
Another protest is being billed as “the largest armed protest in U.S. history.” Still another plan, say officials, is a protest in honor of Ashli Babbitt, who was shot by police during the Capitol building breach.
The FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies were caught off guard during the January 6 mob attack on the Capitol, and they apparently don’t want that to happen this time.
“They were talking about 4,000 armed ‘patriots’ to surround the Capitol and prevent any Democrat from going in,” [Rep. Conor] Lamb [D-Pa.] said. “They have published rules of engagement, meaning when you shoot and when you don’t. So this is an organized group that has a plan. They are committed to doing what they’re doing because I think in their minds, you know, they are patriots and they’re talking about 1776 and so this is now a contest of wills.”
“We are not negotiating with or reasoning with these people. They have to be prosecuted. They have to be stopped. And unfortunately, that includes the president, which is why he needs to be impeached and removed from office,” Lamb added.
Coordinating the actions of 4,000 civilians — armed or not — would take military-style discipline and training. It would also take 4,000 people to show up armed and ready to commit murder and treason.
It’s not going to happen, of course, but fear is a potent weapon. And ginning up fear about an armed insurrection can be very useful as the crackdown on speech and independent thought continues.
“It was horrifying, the most chilling hour imaginable, but I don’t want to say anything more,” said one House Democrat who participated in the phone call.
“If you weren’t afraid when you got on the call, you were afraid when you got off,” said a second lawmaker. “There were still 60 people in the queue who didn’t get a chance to ask their questions.”
In truth, there are probably many Democrats who believe in armies of right-wing patriots marching on Washington ready to kill them all. That’s how they see the opposition anyway, so it’s natural that they’d believe the marchers will be capable of anything.
But more sober-minded authorities appear to have the situation well in hand.
An imposing 7-foot “non-scalable” perimeter fence has been erected around the Capitol, with similar barriers around the Supreme Court and several of the surrounding office buildings. And on Monday night, a train of at least six semis hauling enormous flat-beds stacked high with more fencing was seen driving past the Capitol Police headquarters. A squadron of forklifts was idling nearby to offload the barrier.
The police won’t be taken by surprise again. But Democrats will continue to try and ratchet up the terror factor to gain a political advantage.
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