The United States, divided and haunted by extremist political violence, tries to overcome the trauma of the greatest attack on its democratic system
With the Capitol shielded with wire fences and high security, Washington remembers this Thursday the first anniversary of the attack on January 6, 2021. With a country divided and stalked by extremist political violence, in his speech to the nation, President Joe Biden, recalled on Wednesday the need to protect democracy and blamed Donald Trump for the “chaos and carnage” of that day. It was his first public reference to his predecessor’s sole responsibility for the insurrection.
In turn, meeting criticism of the Justice Department’s inaction in investigating the conspiracy, Attorney General Merrick Garland delivered a speech on efforts to prosecute those responsible. He avoided speaking about specific individuals or positions, but highlighted his team’s unwavering commitment to defending election board employees from threats. Garland also announced the hiring of dozens of attorneys to enhance voting rights and the Constitution.
The Justice Department has come under strong criticism from the press for the apparent lack of investigations. In an article in the Washington Post, journalist Jennifer Rubin pointed out that “patience is running out with Garland,” urging the attorney general, who has not yet linked Trump to the insurrection, to explain in clear terms that the assault Democracy began long before January 6.
Trump canceled his Thursday anniversary press conference at Mar-A-Lago on Wednesday to the great relief of Republicans in Congress. The former president, who faces multiple investigations into his businesses, has been put on notice by the Congressional Committee that investigates the insurrection and claims to have evidence of his breach of duty.
Constitutional oath
It took him hours to ask the violent people – who he himself incited – to put an end to the attack and he ignored his responsibilities as the country’s first authority, which violated his oath to protect and defend the Constitution. Indifferent to the requests of many, including his own family, Trump stepped down to watch the insurrection on television in the dining room adjacent to the Oval Office.
A year after the mob ransacked the Capitol, extremism and the Trump cult has taken hold of the Republican Party, which has built its own account of an incredible theft of the election in order to justify and exonerate its acts of complicity.
Despite the terse convictions of some leaders in the days following the attack, Republicans exempted the former president in the second impeachment trial in Congress and have repeatedly voted in both houses against investigation committees. The violent assault on the Capitol, which is described as a morally justified crusade to “save democracy,” has given impetus to a broad anti-democratic movement that defines the new route of Trumpism without Trump.
Republican extremism has mobilized to pass suppression laws (23 states have passed 33 regulations), partisan control of electoral boards, and the expansion of the powers of state governors and state attorneys general to change the results at their discretion.
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