Militarization on January 6th
An Account of Police Brutality and Excessive Force
In the midst of Brazil’s January 6th, where protesters stormed some of Brasilia’s federal buildings to “reinstate” the evil fascist Jair Bolsonaro and oust the completely non-corrupt Lula, we must reflect on some difficult events surrounding our own “insurrection.” As I wrote in my most recent article, it appears that the FBI had involvement on that day, if nothing other than to entrap Trump supporters and increase public sentiment for a new war on domestic terrorism. We may never know with complete confidence what transpired, but in this second part, we will examine the police brutality and excessive force (I have previously condemned the law enforcement response to some incidents during the Black Lives Matter protests, and now we must do the same for January 6th, 2021).
Although there were some Trump supporters who got out of hand on January 6th and committed acts of violence, like breaking windows or wrestling with police, this narrative is already shoved in our face constantly in the corporate media. I do not advocate for violence that results in harm to individuals, but as I stated, most of the protesters were actually peaceful and simply trespassing in the Capitol (and maybe interrupting a session of Congress, God forbid), which is a building paid for by “we the people.” There was no reason for prisoners to be put in solitary confinement, used as examples for political agendas, and treated like they were enemy combatants overseas.
On top of the FBI knowing that there would be violence that day and was too busy spying on regular Americans to pay any attention, the USCP instigated the crowd by firing tear gas and flash bangs at peaceful protesters, without warning. Keep in mind that this was before any breaching of the gates occurred, so there was absolutely no reason for such a thing (unless they were instructed to cause chaos and intentionally get the protesters infuriated). There was a specific case of a police officer pushing an unarmed man, who was attempting to plant a Trump flag on the Capitol steps, down a fifteen-foot drop, which injured him (to be fair, there was evidence of a Trump supporter dragging a police officer, which is wrong too, but police should not be engaging in this type of behavior).
Since the peaceful assembly was attacked by law enforcement agents, many otherwise calm individuals became enraged. Then, bringing up the likelihood that the FBI had informants and assets working to stir up the crowd, we are talking about a conspiracy against those who were exercising their right to protest. Now, it is likely that some of the police officers were nervous and acted in a natural response to what they may have deemed as a threat to their lives, but why were the police not trained to handle the situation better? These are armed men who are legally permitted to use violent force to halt the actions of dissidents. The USCP should have been better prepared and not so eager to act on power.
After the gates had been breached, Roseanne Boyland was beaten, pepper-sprayed, and trampled by police (officers allegedly pushed the crowd over her), and although her death was ruled an overdose by amphetamines (this most likely contributed), it seems just as likely that it was due to police brutality (similar situation to George Floyd’s death?).
A Minnesota woman, Victoria White, was smashed to the ground with batons and fists (she was hit at least forty times), after she got caught in the middle of the pushing crowd, and she had not displayed any violent actions. She was then dragged across the ground without a coat or shoes and arrested. She was later released and then harassed by the Department of Justice (could it be because the federal government did not want the public to see victims among the protesters?).
Victoria White was far from the only person at the Capitol on January 6th to be aggressively pursued by government agents. In fact, there has been criticism about the deployment of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) units and militarized police to capture the trespassers, and of course, this was at the direction of the FBI (an agency that had an entrapment role in that day) to provide cover for the harsh tactics (anti-Trump forces generally condemn this approach when it comes to drug raids, like in the case of Breonna Taylor, but they will remain silent when this is performed against their political enemies).
Police in riot gear rolled down the street with an armor personnel carrier to arrest Proud Boys-affiliated Aaron Whallon-Wolkind, and after knocking down his door with a battering ram, his girlfriend was handcuffed alongside him. Proud Boys leader Ethan Nordean’s wife was also handcuffed for five hours after flash bang grenades were thrown in the house and assault rifles were pointed at her. Other victims of police brutality similarly complained of battering rams bashing through doors and assault rifles aimed at them. An Alaska couple had their house broken into by federal agents looking for Nancy Pelosi’s stolen laptop, and when it was determined that they got the wrong house and individuals (after four people in the house were handcuffed), the police were not held accountable (as is often the case with drug raids, the police just say sorry and go about their day like nothing happened).
Although experts and members of the FBI claim that such tactics are routine and necessary to stop dangerous criminals, this should not be the case in the United States. Were these agents of the state doing the bidding of the Democratic Party? All in all, over 1,000 militarized assaults were conducted to make an example of conservatives and Trump supporters, but the streets of Washington, District of Columbia were also militarized after January 6th.
It is estimated that 25,000 armed National Guard troops patrolled the city and set up checkpoints, and fencing and concrete barriers were erected around the Capitol. This is not normal or just in the supposed land of the free, and yet, nothing to this extent occurred during the BLM protests (no fence was erected, nor were tens of thousands of guardsmen militarily deployed, in Portland when BLM protesters captured a few city blocks). After all, some of those protests (not all or everyone involved) resulted in casualties and burned buildings and city blocks (again, when the police did commit acts of brutality and excessive force, I condemned that as well). Some have compared the militarization of D.C. to Baghdad’s Green Zone, but of course, condemnation from anti-Trump followers did not really happen (for obvious partisan reasons).
Although Trump’s many haters like to suggest that he did nothing in response to the January 6th incident, some have pointed out that he did indeed authorize the deployment of the National Guard on the day prior, but it was D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser who declined the offer (it does appear that she initially wanted to deploy unarmed National Guardsmen to avoid a heavy-handed response, like during the BLM protests). Either way, Democrats and Progressives claim to want police reform and a reduction of utilization of law enforcement, but they quickly abandon their principles when it comes to Trump and eliminating their political enemies (unless their principles are actually eliminating their political enemies at all costs).
The events of January 6th clearly did not transpire the way that the corporate media and government officials have claimed, and yet, because of this dishonesty, much of the country still believes that this was a violent insurrection without any police brutality. The FBI has gotten its way, and it can now harass Americans in a new war on terror, just like Arabs and Muslims were targeted after 9-11. A new Patriot Act may be underway, and the threats to our First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Ninth Amendment rights will increase. As I have stated numerous times, the FBI is targeting people flying the Gadsden flag and using other symbols of the American Revolution, and DHS has been busy arbitrarily determining what is misinformation and who is a domestic terrorist. If we do not stand up for what is right, we will quickly fall in line with the police and surveillance state that is being established.
Thank you for reading, and please check out my book, The Global Bully, and website.