ExtremismExtremists React to Pro-Trump Siege on Capitol
On Wednesday, January 6, 2021, pro-Trump extremists, including some identified right-wing extremists, stormed the U.S. Capitol building, interrupting the Congressional session affirming the election results and forcing a partial evacuation. In chatrooms and other extremist forums, many people cheered the actions of those at the Capitol, praising the trespassers as patriots who were willing to “stand up” to politicians and the government. many users shared their belief that war is coming, and some encouraged people to be prepared for further action.
On Wednesday, January 6, 2021, pro-Trump extremists, including some identified right-wing extremists, stormed the U.S. Capitol building, interrupting the Congressional session affirming the election results and forcing a partial evacuation. The nation and the world watched the chaos unfold, including scenes of the mob on the Senate floor, in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, and swarming the Capitol steps. By the time the siege ended, four people were dead: three from “medical emergencies” and one, a pro-Trump extremist, who was shot inside the Capitol.
The Center on Extremism has uncovered a range of posts reacting to the event and spreading conspiracies and memes. These have appeared on platforms favored by extremists, including MeWe, Parler, militia forums, Twitter, and, most overwhelmingly, on Telegram.
Calls for Further Violence or War
The January 6 event was only the latest in a series of large rallies and events held in Washington, D.C. since the November 2020 election. On November 14, 2020, thousands of Trump supporters attended the Million MAGA March, contesting the election results. On December 12, 2020, supporters and some right-wing extremists demonstrated at various pro-Trump rallies.
Nevertheless, extremists saw the mob action on January 6 as a more concrete step towards conflict. Jacob Wohl, trickster and disinformation activist, posted to Parler claiming the U.S. has been in a civil war for several years, casting “the left” as the antagonists. The right, Wohl wrote, has finally “answered back”. A white supremacist Telegram user that posts accelerationist content wrote that the January 6 attack on the government will not go unanswered and encouraged followers to “keep your head on a swivel and your rifle by your side, war is coming.”
On militia forums, many users shared their belief that war is coming, and some encouraged people to be prepared for further action. In the Oath Keepers private chat, one user wrote, “I believe the war has started. The only way we get justice for ourselves and protect the Constitution is if we begin fighting back.” Another posted, “It sucks that I have to say this…but, God bless the Patriots taking our country back from a thieving Swamp…The God damn crooked politicians brought this on themselves.”
