Sedition.

The despicable acts committed yesterday in our capital represent our nation’s very worst and the summation of Donald J. Trump’s presidency. Our nation’s Capitol Building was laid siege to and endured large scale occupation for the first time since the War of 1812, with bloodshed staining its floors. A curfew was imposed throughout all of Washington D.C., and fascists roamed our streets for the third time in less than two months. A dark day indeed.

I witnessed firsthand as men and women in their MAGA hats and tactical vests shouted for a mob to move forward and do unspeakable things to our elected officials as they worked for our democracy. These terrorists brought knives, bats, and bombs, and they brought them for a singular purpose: attacking democracy with violence to instill fear and achieve their own leaders agenda regardless of the peoples vote. Those men and women are traitors, and as such, they deserve to be pursued and brought to justice so they can answer to a jury of their peers.

There have been few instances in the past year where I have felt sympathy for the police. But watching small groups of officers desperately hold onto the thin barriers separating themselves from the mob, crawling on the ground after being hit with tear gas and pepper spray from persons wearing Blue Lives Matter gear, and seeing videos of them running from the mob as their barricades fell, it would be impossible not to worry for them. My sympathy, however was not for the organizations; the Capitol Police have serious questions to answer about their strategy and physical security yesterday, and theirs and other police

forces must still answer for their systemic racism. The individual officers who were so clearly overwhelmed yesterday as they attempted to fulfill their oaths and protect the Hill were let down by their superiors and are disgraced by any who would attempt to justify terrorists actions against them.

And the lies justifying yesterday are already being created by the sycophants and sheep who would see this disgusting act of sedition and proclaim it as nothing more than patriotism or a false flag attack rather than the blatant sedition it is. Fools will equate this attack on democracy to the BLM movement, as if that provides justification or reasoning. Comparing the fight against systemic racism to an attack on our nation and its elected representatives is like comparing murder to jaywalking. During BLM events, people looted Target and retail stores, and the cry from the right was that our cities were under attack and lawlessness would ensue. On the 6th of January, the chambers of democracy were attacked, vandalized, and looted, and now justifications and excuses for those actions are being sought to minimize the implications.

Finally we should not even entertain the notions of this being some sort of ANTIFA instigated event; that idea is so ludicrously dumb it only deserves mention because it has become clear over recent weeks that any bile that spews from the leaders of the MAGA cult will be taken as the gospel truth by their mob and acted on by the most extreme among

them regardless of its absurdity or danger. Know that this was Trump supporters committing sedition, no two ways about it. Supporters of this attempted coup will continue and post ridiculous blurry photos with conspiracy theories, share whatever the hell Lin Wood is talking about , and bury their heads a little bit deeper in that sand to rationalize their treason. What else would we expect from a individuals that believes Wayfair was smuggling children or that Sidney Powell is sitting on a trove of evidence? We know what happened, and the world sees it too.

This will continue to be a tumultuous time for our country, the new year was not the harbinger of calm that we all wished it would be. And it would take pages to address every issue that was shoved into the spotlight yesterday. The fascist organizations coming into the daylight, the failure of law enforcement to protect our Capitol, the contrasting police responses to BLM and MAGA protests, the heroism of people like former Army Ranger Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), the implications of a sitting president instigating a coup against one of our three branches of government, and so many more. It is a depressing list, and there are no easy solutions to many of the issues. Just know that our Republic still stands and will endure. Despite the seditious behavior of the MAGA mob and its terrorists yesterday, we once again woke up into a democracy with President Elect Joe Biden confirmed by Congress. Our recovery from this will not be easy or quick, but by continuing to be vocal for social change and racial equality, continuing to turn out to vote for representation that resembles all Americans, and advocating against fascism loudly and continually we can ensure sedition such as we saw yesterday will never be repeated and that those who took part or supported the overthrow of our nation see the justice that they so desperately deserve.