Over his 4 years in office, Donald Trump, soon-to-be twice-impeached ex-president of the United States, has solicited the support of white supremacists like the Proud Boys,The Oathkeepers, Boogaloo Bois and others. Those extremists he calls his “base” are attracted to the confrontational rhetoric and the innuendos of violent confrontation the president has directly espoused during his four tumultuous years in office. That he has refused to allow the security agencies to register any of these groups as domestic terrorists is not surprising, despite the fact that the FBI has been reporting for many years that domestic terror groups, mostly white supremacist, are the greatest terrorist threat to the United States.

In 2017 there was a gathering of White Supremacists in Charlottesville, North Carolina where a young woman counter-protestor was killed after being hit by a car driven by one of the event-goers. “There are good people on both sides,” said Trump when asked to rebuke the rally.

And in the spring of 2020, there was a kidnapping plot to take Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of the State of Michigan, hostage, ostensibly because the extremists were convinced that the restrictions she had put in place to stem the spread of Covid-19 were impeding their “liberties.” Again, there were no words of solace coming from the president.

Most recently, dark money groups (Political Action Committees that aren't required to disclose donor identities) from the far right arranged the rally and brief speech that Mr. Trump gave to his minions on January 6th, 202 before the storming of the Capitol building in Washingon, D. C. took place. ‘“Railing against "this egregious assault on our democracy,’ he urged his followers to "show strength" and "take back our country" by "marching over to the Capitol building" and "demand[ing] that Congress do the right thing."’* What “the right thing” might be was not stated by Trump, though the meaning to those who heard his speech was crystal clear. “By any means necessary,” was clearly implied.

I will not repeat the terrifying stories of upheaval, violence and even murder in the heinous attack on the Capitol building that followed. They are available in any news media outlet. 6 people died as a result of injuries sufferred in the melee.

In the aftermath of the US Capitol insurrection, there have been threats of violence from these terrorist cells at the inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden, and other events surrounding the swearing in of the new president. All 50 states have been alerted that these groups have actions planned at their state capitals on Saturday, January 16th. The FBI, Homeland Security and other Federal Agencies are on the aware, and they say, ready.

Members of the House of Representatives have impeached Trump for his role in instigating the riots. The trial portion of the proceedings will commence 100 days into Joe Biden's term as President of the United States.

This is a very loud wake up call. I’ve tried for years to have discussions with many Trump supporters on social media, but it’s hard to argue with people who are so firmly set in their belief that anything Trump does is right. LIke many other liberals, I have given slack over the years, cultivated a “can’t we all get along” attitude, and sometimes looked the other way when justice was not being served.

But the time for leniency and appeasement is gone, if indeed it ever existed with these hardened and shameless individuals. Turning the other cheek won’t work at this point in time. While Republicans in congress are calling for “unity,” that is not going to happen soon, if it ever does. The divide between Trump supporters and everyone else is vast and will not cose and heal quickly. And most people don't want unity with Fascists.

It is time for those responsible for the security of this country to find, investigate, and punish ALL those responsible for the mayhem—including the president--that occurred at the Capitol building on January 6, 2021 to the fullest extent of the law.

Neville Chamberlain discovered that appeasement doesn’t work with Nazis when World War II began. If we pay attention to what history tells us, it won’t work in the case of these domestic terrorists either.


*from Reason Magazine