Right-wing extremists threaten US civil war 

By David Brooks 
January 6, 2022
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.

Pro-Trump protesters storm the grounds of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, USA, January 6, 2021.

The increasing political violence promoted by anti-immigrant extremists is threatening a “civil war”, as part of their strategy to regain national political power.

The threat of political violence, even armed, is open and explicit, broadcast daily on social networks, radio, television by right-wing forces sheltered by a Republican Party now subordinate to Donald Trump and his allies.

Authorities, from the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and other intelligence and national security agencies repeat that the greatest threat of “terrorist” violence in the United States comes from extremist US forces, many clustered around white supremacy and anti-immigrant doctrines , including neo-Nazis.

Racist symbols and references prevail in rallies and communications of these forces, such as the flag of the pro-slave Confederation of the First Civil War, along with neo-fascist images and slogans. Many were carried by some of those who participated in the assault on the Capitol on January 6.

“It seems that a civil war will be inevitable” and “we will have a civil war in the streets before Biden is president”, were some of the multiple versions of this type of message that flooded social networks at the end of the 2020 presidential election.

According to a new investigation by ProPublica and the Washington Post, more than 650,000 such messages were uploaded to Facebook threatening civil war, executions of politicians (including Trump’s vice president and the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives) and others. of violence, between the day of the presidential elections, in early November, and January 6 with the assault on the Capitol.

Those messages have not stopped, more than a year after the elections, while Trump and an overwhelming majority of Republicans – including several legislators – continue to promote the version that Joe Biden won by a large fraud in which undocumented people participated.

The majority of Republicans, according to polls, reject that the assault on the Capitol was an illegal act, and consider instead that it was a legitimate protest against “tyranny”, and even against “radical left Democrats.” Some, including legislators, refer to the more than 700 arrested for their participation in that assault in terms of “political prisoners.”

Trump insists on employing rhetoric designed to justify political violence, calling anyone who disagrees with him an “enemy” of the homeland, and for this he even uses the now outdated, but apparently still effective, rhetoric of the cold war. 

The House of Representatives and the Senate of the United States, in emergency recess before the entrance of protesters supporters of President Donad Trump to the Capitol, the headquarters building of the federal Congress in Washington. Photo: Saul Loeb / AFP

Democrats, including Biden, “are vicious, violent and brutal on the radical left,” Trump wrote to his supporters a few days ago, criticizing the handling of foreign and domestic policy stating that “they are letting criminals and murderers into our country. country ”, referring to migrants. He concluded: “friend, this is what happens in communist countries and dictatorships. I will never stop fighting to save America. “

In other words, this is not a political dispute between opponents, but a struggle to “save” the country from the “enemy”.

This rhetoric is directed at the same forces that not only express their willingness to use violence, but are also armed. At least 23 million firearms were purchased in 2020, an increase of 64 percent compared to 2019 (other estimates estimate a total of 40 million weapons purchased by 17 million people). In 2021 millions more were added to that citizen arsenal in which there were already more than 300 million weapons (there are no official figures). Most buyers identify as either Conservative or Republican. Although before the most frequent justification for its purchase was for hunting or sports use, that has changed, as many more argue that it is for “self-defense” or citizen protection against “abuses” by governments.

Furthermore, at political rallies, demonstrations and marches, Trump supporters and / or right-wing groups proudly display their weapons. Some have used them with fatal effects, others have appeared in protest actions where they threaten opposition politicians, even in government offices, from the Capitol, in Washington, to official state facilities.

Political analysts continue to express surprise that, suddenly, a significant sector of this country is apparently ready to dispute the policy with bullets. “The idea that people would take up arms against an American election has gone from being utter nonsense to something we have to prepare for,” Professor Adam Winkler of the University of California, Los Angeles, told Newsweek. expert in arms and constitutional law.

The House of Representatives and the Senate of the United States, in emergency recess before the entrance of protesters supporters of President Donad Trump to the Capitol, the headquarters building of the federal Congress in Washington. Photo: Saul Loeb / AFP

“America today, again, is headed for civil war … the political problems are both structural and immediate, the crisis is long-term and accelerating,” said commentator Stephen Marche, author of the new book The Next War. civil, to The Guardian. He pointed out that the political system could collapse due to a crisis of legitimacy, nurtured by a right wing that promotes violence to conquer power.

Democrats, including Biden, “are vicious, violent and brutal on the radical left,” Trump wrote to his supporters a few days ago, criticizing the handling of foreign and domestic policy stating that “they are letting criminals and murderers into our country. country ”, referring to migrants. He concluded: “friend, this is what happens in communist countries and dictatorships. I will never stop fighting to save America. “

In other words, this is not a political dispute between opponents, but a struggle to “save” the country from the “enemy”.

This rhetoric is directed at the same forces that not only express their willingness to use violence, but are also armed. At least 23 million firearms were purchased in 2020, an increase of 64 percent compared to 2019 (other estimates estimate a total of 40 million weapons purchased by 17 million people). In 2021 millions more were added to that citizen arsenal in which there were already more than 300 million weapons (there are no official figures). Most buyers identify as either Conservative or Republican. Although before the most frequent justification for its purchase was for hunting or sports use, that has changed, as many more argue that it is for “self-defense” or citizen protection against “abuses” by governments.

Furthermore, at political rallies, demonstrations and marches, Trump supporters and / or right-wing groups proudly display their weapons. Some have used them with fatal effects, others have appeared in protest actions where they threaten opposition politicians, even in government offices, from the Capitol, in Washington, to official state facilities.

Political analysts continue to express surprise that, suddenly, a significant sector of this country is apparently ready to dispute the policy with bullets. “The idea that people would take up arms against an American election has gone from being utter nonsense to something we have to prepare for,” Professor Adam Winkler of the University of California, Los Angeles, told Newsweek. expert in arms and constitutional law.

“America today, again, is headed for civil war … the political problems are both structural and immediate, the crisis is long-term and accelerating,” said commentator Stephen Marche, author of the new book The Next War. civil, to The Guardian. He pointed out that the political system could collapse due to a crisis of legitimacy, nurtured by a right wing that promotes violence to conquer power.