U.S. Capitol Police, the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and other law enforcement agencies are on alert for tomorrow's observance of the violent Trumpist insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, according to reports. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger told a hearing in the Senate yesterday that his force is prepared, while still requiring a personnel buildup due to resignations and retirements over the past year.
Yesterday, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkis warned that the threat of violence by radical Trumpists is still present, fueled by the malignant former guy's continued lying that the 2020 election was "stolen" from him. His cult followers have taken to threats against local election officials and others in an effort to undermine confidence in our elections (except when Republicans win). Unlike January 6, 2021, law enforcement is prepared for potential violence, even if a mob doesn't assemble:
"DHS is working across the department to ramp up, where appropriate, the operational posture, including deploying more people, operating a 24/7 intelligence watch capability, coordinating with fusion centers across the country to share information, according to a federal law enforcement official. [snip]
DHS is coordinating with the FBI, the Metropolitan Police Department, Park Police, and Capitol Police to ensure that adequate personnel and physical security measures are in place, the official said, adding that they are tracking intelligence indicators to see if we can identify groups of people who may be traveling to the Washington region."
It's hard to imagine Trump's cult not acting out somewhere, somehow in a perverse celebration of their day of anti-American infamy, especially as the White House and Congress observe a day of activities to remind us of how close we came to a violent coup against democracy, encouraged by a mentally disturbed demagogue.
(photo: They nearly hanged our democracy. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds, AFP/Getty Images)
