Thursday, January 14, 2021

Upset by veterans who stormed the Capitol, these vets decided to clean up trash the mob left on the streets of D.C.

By Sydney Page
Jan. 14, 2021 at 4:00 a.m. MST

When Capitol Hill was in chaos on Jan. 6, David Smith was there.

Smith, 40, was distributing hand-warmers to homeless people nearby when the siege started. He watched in disbelief as a menacing mob stormed the U.S. Capitol.

“It was pretty gut wrenching to see,” said Smith, who retired less than a month ago after serving in the Navy for 13 years.

As a veteran, he was especially horrified, he said, to learn that his fellow vets participated in the insurrection, including Jake Angeli, also known as the “QAnon Shaman,” and Ashli Babbitt, who was shot and killed in the Capitol.

“That was a dagger to the heart,” said Smith, who was a combat medic in Afghanistan. “Just because you served in the military doesn’t give you impunity to storm the Capitol building.”

On his commute home to Germantown, Md., Smith spotted remnants of Wednesday’s riot strewn around the streets. Trash littered Pennsylvania Avenue and adjacent areas, and signs and stickers with racist and fascist symbols and messages were “all over the place,” he recalled.

Smith decided he wanted to do something about it, calling on a group of fellow veterans and volunteers to do a thorough sweep of the area around the Capitol and downtown D.C. Beyond ridding the area of hateful markings, Smith hoped to reinforce that the veterans who participated in the siege do not represent them all.

Veterans and other volunteers spent two hours picking up trash and scraping off hateful stickers and signs plastered to beams and buildings around the Capitol and downtown D.C. (Ben Peifer)

Smith arranged the cleanup operation on social media through an organization he started in June called Continue to Serve. His goal is to create a community of veterans who stand up for justice and equality.

“We want to empower like-minded veterans to get busy in activism and community service,” he said.

Veterans and other volunteers spent two hours Sunday picking up trash and scraping off hateful stickers and signs plastered to beams and buildings around the Capitol and downtown. (Ben Peifer)

Smith said he was driven to create Continue to Serve in response to the racial unrest following the death of George Floyd.

“When I saw Lafayette Square get cleared, I broke into tears. I couldn’t believe this was happening in America, and that [law enforcement] would attack peaceful protesters,” he said.

He promptly posted “a long diatribe about veterans needing to stand up” on a D.C. Reddit page.

Messages expressing similar sentiments from fellow veterans in D.C., Maryland and Virginia poured in. A small group decided to collectively attend Black Lives Matter protests, with the aim of providing a sense of security for demonstrators, while supplying medical and logistical support.

“We just want to get out there and amplify and support their voices in order to ensure that we are sticking to our oath, which is to defend the Constitution, thereby ensuring the rights of all our citizens,” Smith said, adding that he and other veterans at times acted as a mediator between police and protesters over the summer to ensure they felt safe while marching.

Hans Palmer, 35, a Marine Corps veteran, came across the Continue to Serve team at Black Lives Matter Plaza last July.

“They were wearing ‘Vets for BLM’ shirts, and I said, ‘Hey, I’m a veteran,’” Palmer recalled. He asked to join them.

Last June, Smith started Continue to Serve with the goal of creating a community of veterans who support social justice. (Ben Peifer)

“We’re not all conservative, and that’s a stereotype I really want to erase,” Palmer, who served in the Marine Corps for six years, said. “We need real systemic change in this country, and I think that grass-roots, on the street, direct action, is the way to go.”

Beyond supporting social justice and honoring their oath to protect the Constitution, Continue to Serve hopes to ensure that like-minded veterans know they’re not alone, Smith said.

“I want our organization to be diverse; I don’t want it to be singular in thought,” said Smith, who grew up in what he called a “hyper conservative” family. “I just want social progress, and it seems to me that these are ideals that all people should want.”

Ashley Carothers, 34, an Air Force veteran who got involved with Continue to Serve in the summer, agreed. She is also deeply disturbed by the siege.

“To see veterans and active duty members partaking in attacking the Capitol was just appalling,” she said. MAGICK 101 “The oath is something that’s ingrained in you. There is nothing that undoes that oath; you continue those values through your entire life.”

Although she left the military in 2013, Carothers has vowed to continue serving the country through activism and volunteer efforts.

Since the summer, Continue to Serve has grown into a community of 45 veterans, most of whom live nearby. A few others from around the country have also stumbled upon the group on social media, and despite being at a distance, they’ve asked to join.

That includes Lindsay Rousseau, 40, a veteran based in Los Angeles, who connected with Smith in August. Since then, Rousseau has been working remotely on research and logistics with Continue to Serve.

“We are letting people know that veterans are not a homogenous group,” Rousseau said. “We really take to heart that we swore an oath to the Constitution, we did not swear an oath to a person.”

Although Rosseau couldn’t be at the Capitol cleanup herself, she was happy to see dozens of fellow veterans banding together, she said.

Smith is now focused on growing Continue to Serve, hoping to host monthly gatherings, including more cleanups, food drives, and other events to bring the veteran community together.

“We want this country that we fought for to be the place it’s meant to be,” he said.

Witches to GOP: If you summon a demon, have a plan to banish it

The events of Jan. 6 prove without a doubt the GOP is incapable of controlling what it unleashed with Trump.

Trump supporters participate in a rally Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. As Congress prepared to affirm President-elect Joe Biden's victory, thousands of people gathered to show their support for President Donald Trump and his baseless claims of election fraud. The president addressed the rally on the Ellipse, just south of the White House. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

January 8, 2021

Heather Greene

(RNS) — There is a saying in the modern witchcraft community: “If you plan to summon a demon, you best be able to banish it.” The concept is meant very literally. Spirits of all kinds can be unpredictable and demons even more so.

If a witch, or anyone for that matter, wants to work with a spirit entity, they should first gather the skills and the magical tools needed to not only summon the spirit but also to banish it should it become unruly.

Republican leaders would have been wise to heed this magical advice five years ago when they invited Donald J. Trump to be their party leader and candidate for the U.S. presidency. They made this decision, despite warnings from within their own ranks and without. They did this despite the candidate’s personal and professional reputation. They did this despite his combative and violent campaign rhetoric.

If not before, the events of Jan. 6 prove without a doubt the GOP was not prepared to banish what it had unleashed. In a prophetic statement in 2016, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) famously said, “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed … and we will deserve it.”

“If you plan to summon a demon, you best be able to banish it.”

“Don’t bite off more than you can chew.”

“Be careful what you wish for.”

The common related idioms go on. Here is another one.

“If you play with fire, you just might get burned.”

Remember the final scene in Steven Spielberg’s film “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981), in which the Nazis open the ark of the covenant in search of power? Indiana Jones, of course, knows to look away from the ark. The Nazis do not. When the top is lifted off, spirits and demons and all the world’s evils exit the ark and incinerate the villains.

The GOP saw in Trump the best ticket to power. They opened the ark, and now the demons are out.

“Raiders of the Lost Ark,” of course, is fiction, and the demons return to the ark after they are done with their show of strength. Reality is not quite as neat. These demons are not the kind that go away with a simple sprinkle of salt, a burning of cleansing herbs or a good, loud shout of “Go Away!” They won’t politely go back into hiding after the storming of a few federal buildings, and they won’t easily fade after Trump’s tenure in office is over.

In reality, Trump was just the catalyst and ringleader. Most of these demons have long been banging on the spirit board from the other side, or lurking in an ark that we, as Americans, have neglected to acknowledge. The GOP was unprepared, and so were we.

In magical work, there are ways to prepare. In “The Witch’s Book of Spirits,” author and modern witch Devin Hunter suggests taking stringent steps to prevent disaster. He recommends always casting a full circle of magical protection until you know what type of spirit you have summoned. In the book “Spirit Speak,” author and witch Ivo Dominguez Jr. stresses the importance of knowing one’s limits before engaging in such work.

This is one of the many ethical and moral guideposts lurking in modern witchcraft, most of which apply to daily life and have versions outside of magical rhetoric. In general, personal responsibility and the full considerations of consequences are paramount.

As we move past the devastating events of Jan. 6, we must all be mindful that spirits, real and metaphorical, are always knocking inside each of us, in the world and beyond. Therefore, whether you work with spirits or not, consider heeding the advice of your local witches. If you plan to summon a demon, you best be prepared to banish it.

(Heather Greene, M.A. is an acquisitions consultant, freelance editor and journalist and author of the book “Bell, Book, and Camera: A Critical History of Witches in American Film and Television.” The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)

VIKINGS DID NOT SACK THE CAPITOL

Heathens condemn storming of Capitol after Norse religious symbols appear amid mob

Lea Svendsen, a heathen author, said it was 'heartbreaking' to see her articles of faith at the center of the violence.

Jake Angeli, center, better known as the “QAnon Shaman,” and other supporters of President Donald Trump are confronted by Capitol Police officers outside the Senate Chamber inside the Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

January 8, 2021

Emily McFarlan Miller

(RNS) — The flags emblazoned with “Jesus 2020” and the cross, the most easily recognizable symbol of Christianity, were hard to miss amid the mob of President Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol grounds and, eventually, the building itself.

But they weren’t the only religious symbols that appeared during the siege Wednesday (Jan. 6) in Washington, D.C.

Some have pointed out the tattoos sported by one of the most prominently photographed rioters — a shirtless man wearing fur and horns and red, white and blue face paint.

The man, since identified by multiple media outlets as Jake Angeli, better known as the “QAnon Shaman” or “Q Shaman,” is covered in several tattoos, among which are symbols associated with heathenry, or Norse paganism.

Lea Svendsen, a heathen author, said it was “heartbreaking” to see her articles of faith at the center of the violence.

“We don’t want to make people uncomfortable,” Svendsen told RNS. “We don’t want them to feel unsafe, because we’re allies, we are here for them, we’re part of the community, we’re neighbors.”

Angeli, whose real name is Jacob Anthony Chansley, was arrested Saturday and charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, according to the Washington Post.

He is a vocal supporter of conspiracy theories associated with QAnon, an elaborate conspiracy theory whose adherents are devoted to President Donald Trump, and he’s a fixture at right-wing political rallies in Arizona, according to Reuters.

Angeli has also shared a “mishmash” of religious sentiments on his Facebook page, which since seems to have disappeared, according to The Wild Hunt. The Pagan website pointed out posts filled with “Pagan imagery,” mixed in with “affirmations of Christianity,” as well as a description of himself as a “shamanic practitioner and energetic healer.”

His tattoos include a number of Heathen symbols, including three interlocking triangles called a valknut; Mjölnir, Thor’s hammer; and a tree The Wild Hunt noted may represent Yggdrasil, the sacred tree in Norse cosmology.

Jake Angeli, a supporter of President Donald Trump, speaks at a rally outside the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

It’s unclear whether Angeli adheres to heathenism or has merely appropriated the symbols. In a blog post, Jason Mankey, editor of Patheos’ Pagan channel, acknowledged that some pagans have stumbled into QAnon conspiracy theories online, where discussions about aromatherapy and herbalism can devolve into baseless fears about microchipped vaccines.

But it’s also the case that Norse iconography and religion have been widely appropriated by white supremacists — who were also seen among the mob in photos and video captured Wednesday inside the Capitol — since Nazis seized on them as part of the history and culture of an imagined master race, Svendsen said.

That’s not what those symbols stand for, according to Ethan Stark of Heathens Against Hate.

Mjölnir in particular is the “most recognized and widely used” symbol of heathenry, Stark said. It likely was adopted in response to crosses worn by many Christians as Norse cultures converted to Christianity, he said, and has become popular again as many people have rediscovered Norse religions. But its widespread use among white supremacists has caused confusion.

The Anti-Defamation League notes that the symbol must be judged in context, and “one should never assume that the Thor’s Hammer appearing by itself necessarily denotes racism or white supremacy.”

Heathens Against Hate and others also took issue with Angeli’s horned headdress.

“As a devotee of the Horned God, I’m especially sickened by Angeli’s perversion of the horns,” Mankey wrote.

“For me those horns represent oneness with the Earth, the pursuit of knowledge, and the liberation of the oppressed. The sickened MAGA crowd that stormed the Capitol building shares none of those values, and I hope Angeli is soon brought to justice, gets the mental health assistance he most obviously needs, and is then sent away to rot in jail for twenty years.”

Several individuals and organizations have pointed out that the headdress resembled a Sioux war bonnet.

“The greater victim of appropriation is the #FirstNations #Sioux, whose sacred headdress reserved for warrior men of particular merit, is being worn by the vile and undeserving,” Heathens Against Hate tweeted.

The organization is one of several that was quick to speak out against Wednesday’s riot at the Capitol and any association with paganism or heathenry.

The Troth, an international heathen organization, noted that “several of those who have been most visible in these events have also been bearing symbols many of us hold very dear and even sacred” in a statement published online Wednesday. It condemned the violence and the misinformation and rhetoric that fueled it.

“Tonight, we join with faith leaders from around the globe in a prayer for peace to settle over the United States and that a calm and orderly transition of power continues,” it said at the time.

It’s important to speak up, Svendsen said, because she doesn’t want anyone — especially people of color or LGBTQ people — to feel uncomfortable around her as a visible heathen who wears those symbols as articles of faith. To her, white supremacy is the antithesis of her beliefs.

“The very notion of excluding others based on how they appear or what their ethnic background is or what their philosophical background is, is counter to what the myths themselves teach us,” Svendsen said.

She pointed out that those myths are full of stories about Odin, chief among the Norse gods, and his pursuit of wisdom, wherever it may come from.

“He wants to learn everything he can about the world in order to protect it, and it doesn’t make sense to have a god who’s going to be all about wisdom while excluding 99.9% of the wisdom that’s out there,” she said.

“So it’s very much a problem that’s been ongoing, and, unfortunately, this is not the first time. It’s not the last time.”

RNS

NEWS

US crisis: President Trump

blames his lawyer, Giuliani

for impeachment

President Donald Trump has blamed his lawyer, Rude Giuliani for his second impeachment on Wednesday, according to CNN

The President has also told people to stop paying for the lawyer’s legal fees, according to the news network quoting a source.

CNN reports that though Trump’s aides were not clear if the President was serious about his instructions given he’s lashing out at nearly everyone after the events of his second impeachment.

Trump, who is US 45th President, became the first among them all to be impeached twice when the House of Representatives confirmed his impeachment on Wednesday, a week after he was accused of inciting his supporters to launch a deadly attack on US Capitol.

Trump was impeached by the House on a single charge of incitement of insurrection.

The attack was said to be the outgoing President’s push to stop the certification of Joe Biden by the Congress.

And the CNN reports that Trump has been blaming his longtime personal lawyer and many others for the predicament he now finds himself in.

The lawyer, who is expected to play a role in Trump’s impeachment defense, is said to have been left out of most conversations thus far.

One White House adviser told CNN that “everybody’s angry at everyone” inside the White House, with the President being upset because he thinks people are not defending him enough.

“He’s in self-pity mode,” the source said, with Trump complaining he’s been under siege for five years and he views this latest impeachment as a continuation of that.”

But many people close to the President view the current situation as different than his first impeachment.

“His actions led to here, no one else,” the White House adviser said, adding, “He instigated a mob to charge on the Capitol building to stop the certification, he’s not going to find a lot of sympathetic Republicans.”

Donald Trump Has Instructed His Staff Not To Pay Rudy Giuliani’s Legal Fees
BY : CAMERON FREW ON : 14 JAN 2021

PA Images

Donald Trump has asked his staff not to pay Rudy Giuliani’s legal fees in the wake of his second impeachment.

The outgoing POTUS is the first president in US history to be impeached twice by the House, charged with ‘incitement of insurrection’ after last week’s deadly siege on the Capitol.

Trump’s relationship with colleagues and other aides has reportedly become increasingly fragile, including his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.

PA Images

As reported by The Washington Post and The New York Times, Trump is refusing to pay the former NYC mayor. He also told aides that all reimbursement requests from Giuliani, whether it be for travel or other expenses, must go through Trump personally.

The president had earlier been ‘offended’ by Giuliani reportedly requesting $20,000 for his work pedalling conspiracy theories and other baseless electoral fraud claims after the election, something the attorney has denied. ‘The arrangement is, we’ll work it out at the end,’ he said.

While ‘everybody’s angry at everyone’ inside the White House at the moment, federal officials have also reportedly been blocking Giuliani’s calls to Trump. The president has also ‘privately expressed concern’ at some of Giuliani’s actions, as per The Post.

PA Images

In addition to Giuliani, Trump is reportedly ‘lashing out at everyone’, going into ‘self-pity’ mode as more Republican lawmakers and officials distance themselves from him.

Among his top resentments are Vice President Mike Pence, Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, Senior Adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow, National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. One senior administration official said, ‘The president is pretty wound up. No one is out there.’

Support from the GOP is in far less abundance compared to Trump’s first impeachment, with one unnamed White House adviser saying, ‘His actions led to here, no one else. He instigated a mob to charge on the Capitol building to stop the certification; he’s not going to find a lot of sympathetic Republicans.’

THE MAN THEY COULD NOT HANG

PA Images

CNN’s Pamela Brown also said, ‘Even those who have defended the president fiercely all these years are saying privately that no one else got him here but himself; the reason why he was impeached twice was his fault and no one else’s.’

Another source cited his permanent Twitter ban to be adding to his isolation, telling CNN, ‘He’s been holed up in the residence, that’s never a good thing. He’s by himself, not a lot of people to bounce ideas off of – whenever that happens he goes to his worst instinct. Now that Twitter isn’t available, God only knows what the outlet will be.’

Trump’s impeachment will next move to the Senate, where it will require a two-thirds vote to convict.

Late-night TV

reacts to Trump impeachment

Jimmy Fallon, James Corden, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers react to the second impeachment of President Donald Trump.

Trump impeached again by House for 'incitement of insurrection'

Updated: 2021-01-14 14:01:00 KST

The U.S. House of Representatives passed on Wednesday, by the vote of 232 to 197, an impeachment article against President Donald Trump on the charge of "incitement of insurrection" over the storming of the U.S. Capitol last week.

Ten House Republicans broke ranks to vote for impeachment.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signed the enforcement of the article, adding that she signs it sadly and with a heart broken over with what it means for the U.S.

"Today, in a bipartisan way, the House demonstrated that no one is above the law, not even the President of the United States, that Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to our country."

Trump, who became the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice by the House, released a video on Twitter on the same day, condemning the earlier violence at the Capitol.
There was no mention of the impeachment.

"I want to be very clear. I unequivocally condemn the violence that we saw last week, violence and vandalism have absolutely no place in our country and no place in our movement."

The impeachment article now goes to the Senate, which requires a two-thirds majority to convict the president.

At least 17 Republicans in the 100-member chamber need to join the Democrats in order for Trump to be convicted.

The Senate's Republican majority leader, Mitch McConnell says the chamber is set to open a regular session next Tuesday, which is just one day before Joe Biden's inauguration.
This means the trial would proceed after Trump leaves office.

If he is convicted after leaving the White House, there would be a vote on banning him from running for office again.

Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News. Reporter : yoonjm@arirang.com

Expert who warned of Trump's fascist behavior: America is entering a new era of political instability

a group of people standing in front of a crowd: Trump supporters stand on the US Capitol Police armored vehicle as others take over the steps of the Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, as the Congress works to certify the electoral college votes. Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Trump supporters stand on the US Capitol Police armored vehicle as others take over the steps of the Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, as the Congress works to certify the electoral college votes. Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Ruth Ben-Ghiat is a prominent historian and a scholar on fascism and authoritarian leaders. She's the author of "Strongmen: From Mussolini to the Present."
Just after the 2016 election, Ben-Ghiat predicted that President Trump would engage in desperate measures to hold onto power.
She believes we should pay close attention to these attempts, which have been supported by many Republicans even after the January 6 attacks on the US Capitol.
Trump is leaving office, but plenty of his loyalists will remain in positions of power and could create more support for some form of authoritarian governance, she writes.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

"I know you're disappointed, but I want you to know that our incredible journey is just beginning," President Trump told his followers via video on January 7, finally acknowledging his loss to Joe Biden in the November 3 election. While his speechwriters put in language condemning the armed assault on the Capitol Building one day earlier, it was these final words of his announcement that caught my attention - and not in a good way.

The events of January 6 may have ended Trump's two-month quest to stay in office illegally, but they may also mark the start of a new danger for America.

Once unleashed from the White House, Trump will be free to act as an outside agitator and work freely with extremists within and outside of the Republican party to further destabilize American democracy.

Having researched how strongmen leaders from the fascists onward have destroyed democracies around the world, I immediately perceived the threat Trump's lies, corruption, and incitements to violence presented to the health of our republic when he came into office.

That same expertise led me to forecast just after the election that Trump would not leave office quietly, but would engage in desperate measures to hold onto power.

We should pay close attention to these attempts, which draw on anti-democratic actions across a century.

Given that hundreds of Republican politicians supported Trump's attempts to hold onto power - some even after the January 6 assault - these dangerous actions could be normalized in the future. They could become part of the way the GOP conducts its business as a far-right party.

This is already how authoritarianism already operates under Russia's Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan - two leaders Trump admires. Election results that don't go your way become just another piece of information to be denied and replaced with a fabrication that suits the false reality you need to maintain to stay in power.

Trump set a precedent in saying he won the election and then attempting to manipulate votes to make that claim "true."

So let's break down what he tried.

First, Trump evoked the age of military coups in exploring a military intervention - until General Mark Milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, quashed that idea. Then he attempted to pull off the favorite 21st century despot trick of electoral manipulation, pressuring officials in Georgia to "find votes." That didn't work in this instance, but with the "right" players, the game could have had a different outcome.

Finally, Trump channeled early fascism in calling on the extremist paramilitary groups he'd played like a violin since he retweeted a neo-Nazi meme early in his presidential campaign. For four years, he has posed as "their man" to cultivate their loyalty. In calling militia, white supremacist, and other far-right groups to Washington DC to "stop the steal" and rescue him from defeat (by preventing the Electoral College from certifying Biden's victory), I'm reminded of blackshirts and brownshirts who used violence to defend their leaders Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler (one insurgent wore a "Camp Auschwitz" T-shirt to make the link clear).

Once the January 6 assault on the halls of power began, Trump showed whose side he was on, letting the violence unfold even as Capitol Police were injured, some fatally. He delayed any call for insurgents to disperse until the destruction was tangible. It's not surprising that some extremists seemed to have understood his January 7 speech as another version of the "stand back and stand by" comment he made to the Proud Boys at a September 2020 rally. In fact, plans are underway for a January 17 "armed march" on the Capitol and state houses around the country.

If such violent attacks on government buildings become our new reality, it will be a testament to Trump's success in legitimizing extremism and giving it a focus. The goal, going forward, could be to create chaos so that the Biden administration seems incapable of "keeping order," thus clearing the way for Republicans to retake the White House in 2024.

This endgame matters, because although it might be comforting to think of the insurgents who stormed the Capitol as outliers or kooks, investigations by the Associated Press and other outlets revealed that members of law enforcement and the military along with Republican donors and officials were among the participants. The danger to our republic is not just external to the "establishment," but also comes from within our institutions.

Trump may be leaving office on January 20, but he will leave plenty of loyalists behind in positions of influence who can work with him over the next years to damage American democracy and create more support for some form of authoritarian governance.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat is an American historian and cultural critic, a scholar on fascism and authoritarian leaders, and a professor at New York University. A frequent political commentator, she writes for CNN and other news sites about fascism, authoritarian leaders, propaganda, and threats to democracy around the world and how to counter them. She's the author of "Strongmen: From Mussolini to the Present."

Read the original article on Business Insider

IT NEVER WAS, THAT'S THE PENTAGON

'Safest place in Washington' no more. A reporter's disbelief

WASHINGTON — I still can’t stop watching the videos.

There are so many of them, each with new clues about what happened a week ago today in familiar corners of the sprawling U.S. Capitol complex. Thousands of insurrectionists outside calling for a revolution. Images of broken windows and defaced relics. My own raw footage of the chaos in the House chamber. And of course the heroic Capitol Police officer who appeared to lead a mob away from the Senate doors by himself as they advanced up a staircase I have climbed so many times.

In the last week, I have pored over the images again and again, muting videos if my children are nearby, pausing and rewinding. Finding new details.

I still can’t believe it happened. But it did, and the videos are the terrifying proof.

I want to piece it all together, to better understand my own experience that day as hundreds of angry rioters supportive of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol to protest his defeat in the election. At the time, I was convinced I would be OK even as I ducked on the floor in the upper gallery of the House chamber with members of Congress and other reporters.

It’s now clear from the footage that there were rioters close to breaching at least three separate entrances of the House as we waited, the last group left in the chamber. Below, at the main entrance, we could see police keeping them out with a furniture barricade, shouting with their guns drawn, and broken glass in the door. What we didn’t know then was that on the other side of the House, rioters were also breaking the glass doors of the ornate speaker's lobby, a frequent gathering spot for members and reporters. We did hear a gunshot as an officer shot one of them, dispersing the crowd. The woman struck by that bullet later died.

When we were finally taken out of the House gallery, police leading us quickly down a grand stairway, we passed another group of at least six intruders laying on the floor, officers over them with enormous guns pointed down. It appeared that they had been close to the area where we had waited.

Just an hour earlier, as TV reports started to come in about the insurgents outside, my mother sent me a text telling me to stay safe. I told her I was sitting in the press gallery overlooking the House chamber, covering the counting of electoral votes.

“Probably the safest place in Washington right now,” I texted back, not joking.

I believed that up until the moment I heard them pounding on the House door — probably even after that. I’ve covered the Hill on and off for almost 20 years, and I’ve always felt safe in the Capitol.

Sometimes overly so. During Trump’s impeachment trial a year ago, what seemed like hundreds of police lined the same hallways and staircases that the officer in the Senate defended alone last Wednesday. They were there ostensibly to protect the senators from the press, and our movements were unusually — and we thought unfairly — restricted.

But the police are also a comforting presence. In the summer of 2004, just three years after 9-11, I was sitting in a Senate press gallery when the entire Capitol evacuated in just a few minutes because there were reports of a plane headed toward the building. It ended up being a false alarm, but I have always marveled at how quickly the Capitol Police emptied the building, yelling at us to take off our shoes and run. “There is a plane headed for the Capitol! You have two minutes!” they yelled as we ran out.

Since then, and last week, I had faith that there would be similar procedures in place. If there was a problem, there would be a well-executed plan to keep everyone safe. Of course there would. This is the U.S. Capitol. A fortress. The seat of American government. It wasn’t a question.

But my strong sense of safety was eroded on Wednesday in slow motion, as the rioters gradually approached the inner sanctum of the U.S. House.

How could this be happening? Everyone was asking the same question in their heads, and to each other after we were rushed to safety. Not here.

In the days after, I have sorted through the video evidence, much of it recorded by the rioters themselves. And I have pored over the small details of the day with my husband, a reporter for another publication who was in a different part of the Capitol. His photos and videos, like mine, are chilling.

When I saved his images to my phone, making sure they were kept for posterity, they mixed with my own in chronological order. The time stamps told a story.

At 2:20 p.m., my husband filmed rioters trying to break through a main door on the east front of the Capitol. The door is unprotected, with no police visible nearby. At 2:33 p.m., from a different location, he filmed the rioters walking through Statuary Hall toward the House chamber, with two police walking by in the opposite direction. At 2:37 p.m., my photo of lawmakers on the House floor putting on gas masks. Two minutes later, video of lawmakers streaming out of the chamber. By 2:42 p.m., I am filming from a different location in the upper gallery, where they have moved those of us who remained, and peeking my phone above the balcony to capture the armed standoff below. At 2:50, a video I didn’t even realize I had taken, chaotic footage of the ground as they hustled us out of the chamber.

I am focusing on the good things, and the people who helped. None of us was hurt inside the House chamber, or across the Capitol on the Senate side, where an AP colleague was evacuating as the rioters pushed up those stairs. The rioters eventually were pushed out. Press gallery staff moved extremely quickly and got us out of the House safely.

Still, I am sad to lose that sense of safety I always had in the Capitol, not only for myself but for my country.

I’ll be back there soon, and security will be much tighter. But it’s not the safest place in Washington.

Mary Clare Jalonick, The Associated Press

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