In the aftermath of Wednesday’s riots at the Capitol, Trump supporters feel encouraged by extremist views and promise to return to Washington for the upcoming inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on January 20, using online platforms to get together to draw.
‘Many of us will return on January 19, 2021, carrying our weapons to support our country’s intention [sic] the world will never forget !!! We will come up with numbers that no fixed army or police agency can match, ‘wrote a popular Parler user who regularly posts on QAnon and is followed by the Anti-Defamation League.
Parler, Telegram chat rooms and the platform TheDonald.win were all used to plan and coordinate the rally on January 6 which turned into a riot. Posters explicitly stated their intention to “occupy” the Capitol. QAnon conspiracy theorists and people connected to militia groups had a visible presence in the crowd on Wednesday.
Round 2 on 20 January. This time no mercy. I do not even care to keep Trump in power. I care about war, ‘posted an anonymous person on the platform TheDonald.win, which was filled with comments posted by people praising those who made riots on Wednesday as’ heroes’.
Law enforcement is scrambling to identify those who broke into the Capitol building and is concerned about the inauguration as another target.
“There is growing concern that violent extremists are being encouraged by the violation of the Capitol, which means the clock is ticking to take the most influential incitement to violence before they act again,” said Frank Figliuzzi, former director of the FBI Assistant and national NBC News, said. security analyst.
Federal and local law enforcers have so far made dozens of arrests in connection with the Capitol Wednesday violation and for the subsequent evening bell violation.
The secret service, which oversees the security for the inauguration, could not be immediately reached for comment. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service, referred NBC News to the Secret Service.
According to the National Park Service, which handles permits for events in DC, there are seven applications for the first amendment that are in process that overlap with the inauguration date, one of which is clear to Trump supporters.
Megan Squire, a professor of computer science at Elon University and a senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center who follows online extremism, says she is concerned that since President Donald Trump will not be at the inauguration, extremists will be focused on Biden.
“On January 6, their energy was focused on Congress. On the 20th, their energy will be focused on Biden. This is worrying, especially since they are not remorseful or ashamed. “At the moment it does not look good,” she said.
Squire has collected kites for as many as ten rallies planned for January 17, organized by members of the far-right military movement calling themselves ‘Bugaloo bois’. They emerged last year in marches demanding the protection of rights for a second amendment, and the group was on the radar of law enforcement for anti-government activities.
Most worrying is the excitement expressed online by accelerators, some of the most violent and extreme in the white supremacist movement believing there is an impending racial war.
“Overall, the system’s power was hit hard yesterday,” wrote one person in a Telegram chat room used by Accelerator.
‘[Accelerationists] is about the moon and talks about how to exploit grievances. “They are very excited about it in these Telegram groups,” Squire said.
Just because a new president will be inaugurated, according to Jonathan Greenblatt, president of ADL, does not mean that pro-Trump extremists will disappear into the background.
“The conspiratorial, unfounded account of a stolen election will keep extremists alive for some time to come,” he said.
Laura Strickler, Michael Kosnar and Julia Ainsley contributed.