A threat against the Capitol that prompted the House of Representatives leadership to cancel Thursday’s session luckily did nothing.
Capitol Police warned on Wednesday that it “obtained intelligence that shows a possible plot to violate the Capitol by an unidentified militia group on Thursday, March 4”. This finding was confirmed by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), the top Republican on the internal security committee, who said on CNN on Wednesday that “President Trump has a responsibility to tell them to leave. This threat is reliable. It’s real. It is a right-wing militia group. “
Congressman Michael McCaul said fmr. Pres. Trump has a responsibility to tell extremists, who believe that Trump will open on March 4, and that the FBI says it is planning a possible attack on the United States Capitol, to withdraw. “This threat is credible. It’s real. “Http://t.co/txZq2tbwMH pic.twitter.com/n4X4WbwTIo
– The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) March 3, 2021
Trump didn’t tell anyone to withdraw, but luckily everything was quiet anyway around the Capitol on Thursday, where the Senate started debate over the $ 1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill, despite the House’s decision to close that day.
March 4 is a significant date on the QAnon – a cult, troubled conspiracy theory whose supporters believe Donald Trump is secretly fighting a global conspiracy of child sex trafficking led by prominent Democrats. Nicole Narea of Vox explains the fixation of the theory with March 4 in all its complicated details, but in summary: some believers maintained that March 4, which was the date on which presidents were sworn in until the 20th Amendment was adopted in 1933, would be when Trump would be inaugurated for another term. The Trump International Hotel, located just a few blocks from the White House, even tried to capitalize on conspiracy theory by raising room rates to date.
But Jared Holt told Vox that “he found none of the usual evidence that we tend to see when online extremism is about to translate into mobilization in the real world before March 4”. Holt is a resident member of DFRLab focused on domestic extremism; him correctly warned in the days leading up to the January 6 uprising over internet conversations indicating that the pro-Trump demonstrations that day could get out of hand.
“In the past few days, even many extremist influencers and communities have actively discouraged participation in any intended action on that date,” continued Holt in a direct message on Twitter. “Although large mobilization was incredibly unlikely by standard measures, there was still an ever-present risk posed by small groups or individuals who may feel compelled to act on their extremist beliefs.”
Holt noted that while the House’s decision to close for one day and all the security precautions surrounding the Capitol “may seem like an exaggeration,” the January 6 uprising that left five dead “is still incredibly fresh in the minds of law enforcement officials. and me “I am not surprised that the authorities are acting very cautiously. “
In fact, police officers seemed to be trying to avoid a repeat of what happened on January 6, when numerous intelligence memos warning of the threat of violence from Trump supporters who gathered in Washington, DC, to protest the election of the day not they were enough to prevent law enforcement from being oppressed by the MAGA crowd.
While law enforcement officials are being extremely careful today, the Republicans who incited the insurrection by spreading lies about the 2020 elections are not. On thursday, Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL) and Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) – both of whom supported Trump’s efforts to overturn the election – continued Fox and friends and argued that, despite the active threat on Capitol Hill, they saw no need for the continued presence of the National Guard.
“I think the idea of keeping [the National Guard] there indefinitely, and maintaining a barbed wire fence around the Capitol indefinitely is crazy, ”said Hawley.
On the day the House was closed because of a threat of violence, pro-insurrection senator Josh Hawley protested against National Guard troops stationed on Capitol Hill pic.twitter.com/LIjTKmzbFU
– Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 4, 2021
But if Republicans who support Trump really want to reopen the Capitol, the best thing they can do is to denounce the lies and conspiracy theories about the 2020 election that continue to inspire troubled supporters of Trump to try to solve the problem on their own. Instead of doing so, however, the Republican Party remains largely unified behind the false notion that Joe Biden’s victory has been tarnished.
Although Republicans like Hawley and Waltz don’t see the need for the National Guard’s continued presence on Capitol Hill, the Capitol Police disagree. On Thursday, the force allegedly asked the National Guard to remain on Capitol Hill for at least two more months, citing continued security concerns. The request came a day after a hearing in the House, where the acting chief of the Capitol Police, Yogananda Pittman, told lawmakers that threats against them have increased by almost 100% year after year.