Re: I was there. Media and politicians are doing a disservice to our country

2021-01-10

Dear Amy,

it is inconceivable that you were there and did not see what the whole world saw -- the angry, lawless mob violent and destructive in their hostility, causing mayhem and fear in the congressmen and women who had come together for final certification of the election count.

There are hundreds of pictures by internal video cameras of the unbelievable happenings there, including the death of one (QAnon) woman shot by a capital policeman as she was the first to enter one of the barricaded inner rooms, and the death of one capital policeman killed by a blow on the head by one of the mob -- Could it be that you actually missed seeing and knowing about the violent smashing of the internal senate chamber doors and the cowering senators inside who barely escaped to a safer spot, some wearing gas masks they were directed to put on?

You did mention the guy sprawling in the chaos in Nancy Pelosi's office, so you must have seen more of the chaos that was happening. How could you miss it? I saw in the video some with combat boots, body armor, other tactical gear, the crush of a mob rushing through corridors.

Amy, this is not "fake news" or "media exaggeration" -- this is the actual living record that everyone could horrifyingly WATCH in real time, as it happened, beginning at about 1:30 pm Wednesday as the mob came through or broke through the outer doors -- (which normally would have been closed and locked because of Covid 19) -- and marched through the Hall of Statues and on into the inner rooms and stairs and corridors and offices of the congress. And they had iron pipes, and carried large covered back packs (with covered weapons?) and real pipe bombs found in some offices by the police. A large Confederate flag was carried in, and a huge pile of zip ties was clearly seen, dropped on the congressional floor (presumably for the possible taking of hostages?) It is reported (by the mob spokesmen) that a noose outside was set up, though It was not videoed.)

And they continued to sow chaos and fear and mayhem with the purpose of stopping and disrupting the final joint session for final certifying of the electoral vote -- the normal democratic process in a Democracy. But this invasion of the Capitol was an insurrection. This was a sabotaging of democracy.

And that was Trump's purpose.

He had repeatedly called on his supporters to come to Washington for the joint session after his sixty-plus efforts to overturn the election with the courts had failed (some judges he had even recently appointed). He said to them, "it will be wild."

But he had for months, way before the November election maintained over and over again that IF HE DID NOT WIN THE ELECTION it would be because the election for sure "would be rigged," (How could he know it beforehand?) that the traditional mail-in ballots were a "fraud" and that there was no way Donald Trump could lose any "real" election. He really may have convinced himself of that. (Several people in the psychiatric field have stated he really is delusional.)

Or he was cynically lying, which is consistent with him.

But he lost fair and square. Republican governors and Republican secretaries of state in four contested states have formally testified to that fact. Consistent Machine and Hand recounts have repeatedly shown that he lost. But Trump stated that the election was "stolen" and that the election "had to be reversed."

Ever since the election he has been incessant. His supporters believed him, as they always do, and when it became clear that Sen. McConnell and VP Pence were preparing to agree with the election and "sell him out" they were perfectly willing to believe it -- and act to stop it.

Before the mob broke into the Capitol he addressed them in the park just south of the White House, as seen on TV, and as you probably heard, if you were there. Referring to the election he declared "There has never been anything like this -- it's pure theft -- in American history." He continued his incendiary rhetoric with more bogus claims of "voter fraud." He referred to the election as "a criminal enterprise" and ended up with more incendiary stuff. He urged them to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue and words to the effect of "take back our country."

Shortly after about 5:pm Pres.-elect Biden addressed the nation: "This is not dissent, this borders on sedition and it must end now." (At that point the total extent of the violent mayhem was not yet fully known.) But I believe this incitement to his fascist followers to try to stop and change the outcome of a democratic election is not "bordering on" but is treason itself. We have a deluded, deranged and authoritarian president who incited one of the most despicable acts that has ever been done by any president in our nation's history. He must be quickly impeached since it looks like he won't resign.

--Annette