The Right-Wing Extremists Are Happy, But They May Also Be in Trouble

David Bernell

 

The end of Trump and Trumpism are likely be the biggest result of the attack on the Capitol on January 6. People will disagree on what to call this: coup, riot, mob violence, sacking (the term “putsch” might work). But the actions are clear: Donald Trump called for a rally on the day that Congress was set to certify Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the winners of the presidential election; he and other speakers that day called for action to be taken to stop Congress; he directed the crowd to go to the Capitol and put a stop to the election certification; and then people stormed the Capitol and stopped the Congressional action while it was in process (though only for a few hours). People died.

 

Imagine if this had been done by ISIS or al-Qaeda or another country. We would clearly recognize the threat it posed to the country and our democracy. Because the President of the United States orchestrated this event doesn’t make it any less significant or threatening. In fact, this increases the importance and the danger.

 

The far right-wing extremist groups that have been a key part of Trump’s support, that formed a significant part of the group that came out to Washington DC to protest the election, and whose actions long pre-date Donald Trump, scored a big propaganda victory on January 6. As has been reported, “many of the participants were militia movement groups and white supremacist and white nationalist groups and known individual conspiracy extremists.”[1] They will be bragging about this for a long time. And this may very well mark a milestone that portends even greater right-wing violence, perhaps prompted by a Donald Trump who has no political restraints and no responsibilities.

 

But at the same time, this moment also spells trouble for the far right-wing movement of domestic extremists. Their calls for violence, for taking down the federal government, for insurrection, all now have a new deed attached to it: the storming and sacking of the Capitol building, engaging in violence to achieve their aims, and getting people killed. These far-right groups now have clearly demonstrated to everyone where they stand. And they have done so in a way that people couldn’t miss or ignore. They’re not simply hiding out in the corners of the internet with each other. They have emerged front and center. This is no longer about only hateful speech and ideas, but hateful and very harmful deeds and actions. The events of January 6 provide a clear and defining moment.

 

The FBI and other parts of the federal government have said for years that right-wing domestic terrorism is the greatest home-grown threat our country faces. Law enforcement has sought to stop them, but now the effort and can and should be expanded and further prioritized. From the FBI down to local police forces, the United States can should make a concerted effort to go after these violent, extremist, anti-democratic, un-American groups. As they seek to expand their reach and their presence, and to become more “normalized” as part of the American political fabric, it’s time to do everything possible to shut them down. Arrest and put on trial those who participated in the attack on the Capitol, and those who organized and incited their violence (all the way up to Donald Trump). Go after their sources of money, their web presence and communications. Give them no rest and no room to operate. Put them on the run.

 

A result of the right-wing extremists taking such hateful action that the world could see is that there is now no reasonable argument to be made that targeting these groups is simply going after political adversaries or criminalizing speech or ordinary political activity. Republicans, Democrats, Greens, Libertarians, Socialists, and others across the political spectrum know the difference between what these domestic terrorists say and do, and what those of us who love and respect our Constitution, our rights and freedoms, say and do.

 

Let’s put these people and their hate groups back on the defensive. The putsch of January 6 will discredit Trump and his anti-democratic politics. It can also provide a new impetus to discredit and diminish the far right-wing extremists too. They have been locked in a mutual embrace with Trump, and their actions clearly demonstrate that they seek to upend American democracy. It’s time to put them all back on the sidelines of American politics.

 

 

[1] Greg Sargent, “The far-right Trump insurgency just scored a huge propaganda coup,” The

Washington Post, January 8, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/01/08/capitol-mob-far-right-trump-propaganda/?utm_campaign=wp_opinions_pm&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_popns.

 

(Some parts of this essay appeared in the James Madison blog [http://jamesmadisonblog.info/] under a pseudonym.)