Why we were there

 

Why Protest?

 

Today marks one week since the protest at the US Capitol which is now being characterized as a seditious act of an angry mob.  Those who attended are being excoriated and “cancelled.”  I posted a blog with a fairly detached tone that was a simple description of the event and I was rewarded with a person who I don’t even know posting a review on my employer’s Facebook page calling me out by name as a cultist and a seditionist.  The person feels that I don’t deserve a job.  Fortunately, my post was reviewed and determined to be acceptable but I pulled it down anyway.

 

The one thing I did not address was why I chose to go to the protest in the first place.  I thought that would be clear to all, but I have since learned that it isn’t.  Either through innocent or willful ignorance, they really cannot figure out why so many thousands of Americans would travel to participate in such an event. 

 

There are a few points that unfortunately need to be brought up.  I thought these were self-evident, but apparently are not. 

 

1.      1.  Nobody I spoke to had any intention of breaking any laws.  That includes rioting, breaking and entering, assault or any of the things that are shown on TV.

2.      2.  Those that clearly did come to break the law were very small in number as compared to the numbers at the protest.  I don’t have actual figures because strangely, they are not available anywhere I can find.  The crowd at the Ellipse was huge and likely in the hundreds of thousands.  It was not the 2 million that rumor pegged it at but it wasn’t in the tens of thousands either.  The number actually in the Capitol was somewhere in the low hundreds. 

3.      3.  Not everybody who was there was a Trump supporter.  Yes, I know you’re reading plenty of media accounts of those arrested who were indeed Trump fans, but in watching and listening to the crowd, it was obvious that there was a small contingent of those with other views and likely, other motives.

 

Let me also get in the obligatory note that neither I nor anybody I am friends with supports the idea of sedition, treason, murder for political ends, violence for political ends, theft, vandalism, assault, or any of the things that happened inside the Capitol.  I have met a few people who are so angry that they believe it is time for violence, but those are the outliers.  They are not the Tea Party types.  They are the Q-Anon types and there are not a lot of those.  I don’t deny their existence, but they don’t represent any significant fraction of Trump supporters.

 

So what was the point and why did Americans drive and fly from all over the nation to protest this event?  Was it stupidity?  Ignorance?  Malice?  Some people really don’t understand what brought so many Americans to this point and think that is must be some cultish devotion to what they view as a the incarnation of evil.

 

In order to understand it, we need to go back a bit.  In 2016, the seeds of all of this were sown.  The Steele Dossier was a fraud from the very beginning and the FBI knew it at the time.  They ignored that fact and lied to a FISA court and to others in order to pursue a fraudulent investigation.  The Mueller report confirms that that the very least, there was zero evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians.  This led to 3 years of wasted energy and time and destroyed the credibility of the FBI in the process. 

 

There was however, clear collusion between the Clinton campaign and those same Russians.  John Durham is looking into it and conservatives have been waiting… and waiting… and waiting for satisfaction for that report which will hopefully bring to justice those who really did engage in sedition.  The longer this takes, the less credibility it will have to conservatives.   

 

Then there was the bureaucratic attempted coup.  Sally Yates was one, but not the only one.  Remember all the leaks in 2017?  They were outrageous and unprecedented.  Recordings of conversations with foreign leaders have never been leaked in such a manner.  None of this has ever happened.  It was obvious that the “swamp” or “deep state” was actively coordinating to weaken the president or even run him from office.  They were called the resistance.  They damaged the credibility of the permanent bureaucracy in the process. 

 

Next was the Ukrainian phone call that turned out to be nothing.  This time, it was the national security apparatus that damaged their own credibility once the facts came out.  We watched the Democrats in congress impeach Trump for things that looked idiotic to us. 

Through all of this, the mainstream media was at least complicit if not actively involved.  They never once showed any curiosity into any of the above events except to bolster the resistance.  All it would have taken is for one New York Times reporter to question the narrative and do just a little digging.  That was never done.  The media put the final nail in their credibility coffin when they ignored the Hunter Biden story.  Even now, they admit that the laptop and the evidence of corruption exists but still refuse to mount any serious investigation of it.  

As a side note, with this level of corruption so obvious to conservatives, is it any wonder we were distrustful when more bureaucrats said we had to shut down the economy over a virus?

 

All of this just sets the stage for the election.  Some may look at the above situations and dismiss it as the wrong way to view the facts.  They really can’t dispute the facts themselves though.  In this election, 75 million Americans saw things essentially this way which is more than any candidate has in any election in history. 

 

Seventy-five million Americans saw it and voted and yet somehow President Trump lost to a candidate who didn’t campaign, had rallies where literally a few dozen people attended and had a demonstrated history of a condition resembling dementia.  It made zero sense.  Surely that can’t be true. 

Now about that election… to deny that problems didn’t exist is to deny reality.  I don’t care if court cases have been thrown out, not heard or if Republican officials in some states say things were normal.  If this is normal, then normal needs to change.  We’ve seen the video from Detroit with pizza boxes being used to block Republican observers from doing their job.  We’ve seen the video from Atlanta of cases of ballots being pulled from under a table after observers are made to leave after a “water main break” that never happened.  We’ve seen that election laws were re-written in several states by judges who had no statutory authority to do it.  That just scratches the surface but are the most obvious and don't require mysterious conspiracy theories to demonstrate.  Ballots were sent to every registered voter when the law didn't provide for that and that is in states that had resisted or been prevented from examining the voter roles for decades.  The opportunity for corruption is undeniable.

 

Is any of that enough to change the outcome?  Maybe and maybe not.  But it should be in all American’s best interest to find out.  Election integrity is critical to any functioning democratic government.  Without trust in the outcome of elections, any remaining credibility in government is gone. 

 

That is why we were there.  That is why people traveled thousands of miles to be present at the Capitol that day.  It was to remind the legislative branch that Americans demand election integrity.  We knew this was a Hail Mary and that there was likely no way to stop it at this late date, but all other avenues to attain that had been blocked.  We hoped that Senator Cruz could be successful in getting congress to actually look at the problems and delaying things just a few days more while an honest hearing could be made.  The Pence gambit was doomed but some put faith in that effort as well.  It was grasping at straws because we felt it was our duty to ensure honesty in the election. 

One more thing to consider is what we were prepared for.  We were not thinking that this would turn into a riot of Trump supporters.  The thing that concerned me and everybody I met was the fear that the same protesters that had attacked a previous rally would try to attack this one.  It is why I got a train ticket to get me out of town well before sunset.  The fear of Antifa or other violent mobs was a genuine concern of several people with whom I had conversations.  The Tea Party crowd is very respectful and will not even litter on the grounds of the Capitol.  It didn't occur to most of us that elements of the group would resort to rioting.  

Edit 1/16/2021:

Now we are seeing that the riot wasn't as pure as was first portrayed.  It is still too early to know if the real story will come out but already there is video of a BLM activist who embedded himself in the crowd and was clearly inciting as if he were a Trump supporter.  In a heated crowd, this kind of behavior would have predictable effects.  Individuals may be smart, but a mob is not and a mob is easily manipulated by those who are determined to do it.  

My Experience at the US Capitol Jan 6, 2021

 

I want to get all of this in writing before my memory of the day starts to fade or be influenced by what I see and hear from others.  I was there.  I watched it happen.  I am going to try to explain what was seen and heard from my perspective.  I understand that my perspective isn't the only one from that day but I think it is important to have first hand accounts so that others may sort out fact from fiction.

I arrived by Amtrak at 10:45.  My friend Mark had talked me into going and we stayed inside the station for a bit to eat and get ready to head out.  We knew that Trump was speaking on the Ellipse at 11:00 and there was no way we could make that.  Our general plan was to attend the "Wild Protest" rally which was set for 1:00 to 5:00 near the Capitol.  We assumed that everybody attending the Trump speech would make their way to the stage set up for those speakers later in the day.  That turned out to be totally incorrect.  The Wild Protest stage was behind the Russell Senate Office Building and had sparse attendance.  One could not see the Capitol itself from that venue.

As we made our way toward the Capitol, we saw crowds gathering in the East lawn of the Capitol.  There were barricades to keep crowds back, but within sight of the plaza where high profile people would arrive.  We watched Mike Pence's motorcade arrive and park near us at about 12:30 PM.  

If you are unfamiliar with the National Mall, take a look at the map.  From West to East, there is the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument and then the US Capitol.  The White House and the Ellipse are just North of the Washington Monument.  The main entrance of the Capitol is on the East side of the building which faces a plaza, a lawn and then across the street are the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress.   The West side of the Capitol is where the inauguration takes place.  It is ornate and majestic looking but there are no real entrances there.  At least none that are open to the public nor used on a regular basis.  It is a stage prop for the most part but that is what faces the Mall and the Washington Monument.  You'll see why this is important later.

On the East side, there are three sets of stairs.  One to the Senate side, one to the House and one up the middle.  I don't think the House and Senate side actually uses those stairs and there is only one small door at the top.  The center stairs lead to the main entrance into the Rotunda.  There is a large porch at the top of those stairs.  Beneath the stairs is a driveway where dignitaries can unload out of sight from the public.  

Things were jovial for the most part.  The crowd wasn't exactly diverse but not totally homogeneous either.  There seemed to be an inordinate number of older, Asian women which I found a bit odd.  There were young and old, but tended more toward the old.  I am 52 and I would guess that there were more people older than me than younger.  I met people from all over the country.  There were groups from CA, NC, TX, MO, NJ, NY MD and VA that I ran into but I'm certain it was even more geographically diverse than that.  

Let's address the elephant in the room about skin color.  Yes, there were black people in the crowd, but not a lot.  I had a great conversation with an older black man from Ocean City MD.  He was just as upset as everybody else at the idea that some states had changed their election procedures without legal justification and that shenanigans clearly went on in several jurisdictions that he and others felt altered the outcome of the election.  He was just as passionate as everybody else I saw on this matter.  I saw other "people of color" but didn't have the opportunity to engage with them.  At no point did I ever see or hear anything resembling racism or white supremacy.  Not even a hint of it was observed by me.  If this is a white nationalist movement, they did a really good job of hiding that from me.

I did observe a single act of violence.  A young man walked through the crowd spewing vulgarities about Trump.  "F- Trump!  F- Trump" earned him a blindside hit to the side of his head that knocked him to the ground.  A brief scuffle ensued  and both parted with no other interaction.  The reaction to this was split:  Younger people cheered and the older ones looked at each other like "I didn't sign up for that."  

Between 12:30 and 2:00, things were relatively quiet from our position on the East side of the building.  We observed men in black uniforms on the roof but saw no guns.  There was one guard walking around the steps of the Senate side with an M4 rifle.  The rest only carried pistols.  I did see one guard emerge at about 1:30 or so carrying a single tube grenade launcher.  He moved around the side and out of my sight quickly.  

As 2:00 approached, I also noticed a group of construction workers gathering at ground level at the North end of the building where I had just seen the grenade launcher guy moving.  I also noticed that the guys on the roof were no longer there.  

At 2:00, things changed quickly.  I heard and saw a crowd massing near the North side and they were inside the perimeter that I knew was sectioned off from the public.  I noted that, unlike most attendees around me, some of these people had face coverings.  I figured that the crowd from the Ellipse had walked and were now arriving at the West side of the Capitol.  That crowd quickly moved toward a second set of barriers and paused briefly.  I noticed a group of young people who were not part of the protest moving VERY quickly... they had suits, short skirts and had some sort of ID badges around their necks.  As I watched them scurry away, the first breach happened and I got it on camera.  

https://youtu.be/ncQb2JGLS6Y

There were literally hundreds of people that just walked up and the first few casually removed the barricades before the cops on the line could react.  Those cops quickly retreated.  Some moved to secure the stairs to the Senate and the others to the main stairs.  

https://youtu.be/RppFblg3k5o

This is when the rumors started.  We heard that there were 2 million people at the Ellipse and that they were headed this way.  We heard that they were shooting tear gas into the crowd on the West side.  We heard that there were Iranian planes about to crash into the Capitol.  I had texts from several friends and family telling me to get out NOW!  The things I was witnessing didn't seem to require immediate retreat.  I kept the phone recording and made sure I was not in the middle of a riot.  I never was.

Within a few minutes, there was another rush from the front of the crowd.  The cops defending the stairs were being routed into retreat and the crowd advanced to the door of the Capitol.  The entire plaza was now entirely overrun.  People were walking past armored SUV's and cop cars.  Many got on top of a tactical truck and were dancing.  There was no law enforcement presence in the plaza.  I noted one officer on the roof run and check something and then run toward the West side.  I never saw another one on the roof.  The cops guarding the Senate stairs were still there and holding that line successfully, but the ones on the House side were unsuccessful and protesters made it to the single door at the top.

At this point, Mark and I looked at each other and wondered what to do.  Is it safe to move forward?  We saw little old ladies with walkers in front of us so we decided to move closer for a better look.  We did hear a flash-bang go off near the entrance but it caused little reaction from those near the door.  We moved as close at 30 feet from the beginning of the steps.  

Every once in a while, there would be a surge in the crowd and I observed dozens of people streaming up the stairs toward the door.  I never saw them after they reached the top so I assume they made it inside.  Things would die down for a bit and then another surge.  

At this point, things had settled into a less frantic feel.  Again, things felt up-beat.  The crowd broke into a rendition of the National Anthem, followed by chants of "U. S. A! U. S. A!"  It was really remarkable and that event really epitomized my experience that day.  

https://youtu.be/3o4XjMO2Dd0

I continued to get texts from people outside watching the news who urged me to leave.  They were seeing things that didn't match my experience.  Things apparently were pretty ugly on the West side.   

We ran into three guys who had been on the West side and they looked shell shocked.  One had a burned leg... like his pants were literally burned off.  The other guy had a welt on his forehead and his hair was singed badly.  The hood of his parka was burned.  They had both been on fire.  They said they were not advancing or even on the barricade when they were hit with flash-bang or tear gas grenades.  We heard several others in the crowd with similar stories but without the visible evidence.  All claimed that they were not part of any advancing riot.  True or not, stories from unrelated individuals were all similar.  They were fired upon.

Finally, Mark and I looked at our watch and knew it was about time to leave.  We had tickets on Amtrak which would depart at 3:45 so at 3:00, we started to make our way back.  We made a loop around the plaza and noted that no cop cars nor armored SUVs were vandalized or burned.  No fires were set.  We did observe one act of vandalism when a guy dressed in black pulled out a crowbar and broke a window on the ground floor of the Capitol near the valet drop-off.  He was tackled and arrested.

As we left, Constitution Ave was lined with cop cars.  Several cop cars came racing through the intersection with sirens blaring and we would see large crowds to our West.  We made it to Union Station without incident and headed home.

https://youtu.be/-3vjhPdM7y8

Just a couple of notes to finish this off.  My cell phone battery did something odd.  I was having no issues with any web site, including FB until 2:00 PM.  My battery was at 78% and suddenly, things got bad.  I couldn't access some features on Facebook.  I could send and receive FB massages, but could not post nor live stream.  My battery dropped to 20% almost immediately.  A little later, I got some functions back but not all.  

We also saw a military flare drifting down over the South wing.  I'm not sure who launched it but it was a red flare and it drifted down, taking several minutes to reach the ground.  

I'm glad I went.  I'm not going to get into the politics of the situation or what precipitated this.  I only wanted to report my first-hand observations.  I hope this is enlightening.

Edit to add 1/12/2021:  I have had several questions regarding Antifa and BLM.  Did I see anybody that I could identify as being part of an outside group of agitators?  Well... not exactly but some things were very obvious.  The vast majority of people around me wore no face mask.  The vast majority were just your typical middle class Americans.  There were some who stood out.  Yes, they had Trump hats but they wore face coverings and not medical style ones for protection against Covid.   They had darker clothing than was typical and they had the look of predators.  They had skinny jeans.  It is hard to quantify, but they just didn't fit in.  Is that proof that they were Antifa?  Obviously no.  But hearing snippets of conversations and watching crowd reaction as they committed crimes made it clear that they were not one of the crowd.  

I did see a few people with identifiers from Q-Anon.  Again, they were not part of the mainstream.  They were really the outliers.  

As of this date, I still have not seen any crowd estimates which I find baffling.  Since I did not see the main crowd on the Ellipse, I don't know if it was tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands or millions.  It makes it hard to fully understand the crush that happened on the West side of the building without knowing the size of that crowd.