A few days before Jan 6, Trump supporters pushed back against cops at one of their protests, and I remember many of us online reacting with fear that they no longer respected the law and what did that mean? Tr*mp himself had shown he would not concede. He hadn’t even allowed Biden into the customary pre-inauguration White House visit that Obama had allowed for Trump. Prospects did not look good. It was clear there was one side against the other and we were in a veritable Civil War.
When Tr*mp said he was having a rally outside the capital January 6–the day the electoral votes were counted—I felt dread. He had not conceded and was not giving up. I said to my daughter, “It’s going to be violent and at least one person will die. Tr*mp’s not giving in. He has something under his sleeve .”
The morning of January 6, the kids went back to school after winter break, snow was on the ground and the radio played, ‘Lawyers and guns and money.’ In the back of my mind, would Pence certify the election?
Trump’s rally began, and it was announced Pence would certify. That’s when he said to his crowd, “Pence let us down.” And in the crowd you could hear “Hang Pence, kill Mike Pence.”
The live counting began only to be delayed by Ted Cruz opposing. That delay was when Trump sent his angry mob to the capital saying, “Fight like hell.” People with red hats and Tr*mp flags scaled walls and broke windows. They pushed and beat the security guards. I remember seeing birds dive-bomb the protesters and thought that it was angels trying to stop them.
The protestors made their way in like rabid dogs. It was horrifying watching this on TV and all of us on Twitter asked why they wouldn’t tell Trump to put an end to the insurrection?
My kids came home from school and saw the chaos of MAGA zombies sitting in Pelosi‘s chair, going into her office destroying peeing, defecating, laughing enjoying—still Trump does not call them off.
Finally late in the day, he posts a video saying he loves them. He loves his violent protesters. He loves that they were gonna kill Pence. He loves them but they better go home. Thanks for trying. I said by the grace of God our capital was protected and our votes were counted that night.
They came back and counted the electoral votes and Democracy was saved with bated breath. Biden was inaugurated on January 20, though like many, I was terrified something would happen to stop the event. Call it PTSD or situational awareness, but many of us were terrified for the future of America.
And then came the trials. The insurrection we had watched on live TV led by Tr*mp was called into question, and they let him off the hook. If you called in a group of thugs to break into a bank and you encouraged the robbers so that you could have the money, would you not be part of the bank robbery? Would you not be considered the head of the event? Would you not be prosecuted along with them? Now, he calls them hostages; he has a song celebrating Jan 6 because to him they are HIS America.
January 6 put a stain on protesting— an American right—and the way we are heard because otherwise our voices are lost in the crowd. Now anyone who protests is seen as a potentially violent insurrectionist so we leave it up to the justice system, yet he has insurrectionists in high places to fight for him. Is a justice system or a guerrilla republic?
A few summers ago, a woman at the grocery store became belligerent saying Biden was a fake President and Trump would come back, and if she could be in another insurrection she would. I know this to be true—they deny it was a violent event and say it was antifa, but in a heartbeat they would do it again.
Tr*mp has stained America. He cannot come back. He does not deserve to be on the ballot. He does not deserve to be president. People died on Jan 6, but by the grace of God, America remains a democracy and for those who fought and died to preserve our Constitution, we should act in great reverence by protecting and honoring the vote. And we should all vote, no matter the party. Vote like your life depends on it, because it does. Your life and liberty does.
