By Larry Levine –
The acting head of Homeland Security resigned. The head of the Capitol Police resigned. The Sergeants-at-arms responsible for the security of each of the two houses of congress have stepped down.
With a wide array of the most reactionary forces in the nation openly planning new and attacks on the Capitol as the nation prepares for the inauguration of a new President, the organizations charged with securing the safety of those attending the inauguration have been stripped of their leadership.
We look back on Jan. 6 and realize apparently no one was in charge of preparing for the mob assault or meeting it when it occurred, we must look forward now and ask who’s in charge of preparations for the inauguration.
These mobs believe Joe Biden does not have the right to become President. They worship at the shrine of a neo-fascist would be dictator who they believe lost the election only through fraud. They apparently are intent on using any means necessary to block the transition of authority.
We have to face the fact that those involved in the revolutionary activities of Jan. 6 and planning new assaults leading up to the inauguration are well armed and equipped to carry out their mission and motivated toward death and destruction.
To secure the Capital City and the inauguration security must start now. The Washington Monument already has been closed. Every other monument and every building in and around the capitol needs to be secured now. They need to be searched for explosive devises now and locked down until after the inauguration. Floor-by-floor, door-to-door these building and monuments must be searched, threats identified and the space tightly guarded.
There can be no lone gunman with a high-powered rifle lurking at a sixth floor window nearby. There can be no bomb planted with a remote triggering device.
Even that is no guarantee that neo-fascist forces at work in the police, National Guard, military and other organizations charged with security the safety will not attempt mayhem, or a coup.
One member of the Capitol Police has been arrested and two suspended for activities related to the Jan. 6 invasion of the Capitol Building. There is suspicion that others may have played a role in the planning and/or execution of that insurrection. Secret Service officers have been re-assigned because of their loyalty to Donald Trump. At least one active duty member of the military is under investigation and seven police officers from cities across the country also are under investigation.
It would be naïve to believe there are not measurable numbers of Trump sympathizers lurking among the ranks of the police and military organizations in which ultra-conservative ideologs have historically found comfort.
These are dangerous times filled with dangerous people. Donald Trump emboldened and enabled the most reactionary elements of our society. First he told them to stand by. Then he and his sons, and Rudy Giuliani, and others told them it was time to march on the Capitol. Those forces are not going to shrink now from what they see as their duty to save the nation from a rigged and stolen election.
