President Trump, his congressional enablers and other loyalists are now attacking the very foundations of democracy: election processes and their outcomes. Some among these are also fomenting violence in support of Trump’s claims that election results should be nullified or otherwise turned in his favor.
We have now entering “Phase Four” as set out in “Dictatorship for Dummies”:
“Phase Four: Foment division, protests, civil unrest; evoke a smattering of violent responses from opponents; openly encourage the use of force against scapegoats; threaten the use of force to silence dissidents, critics and political opponents; send in your troopers and proclaim yourself the law-and-order Leader who alone can dominate the radical opposition.”
Heavily armed pro-Trump protesters have surrounded the home of the Michigan secretary of state. They threaten her with violence for having done her job in accord with state election laws and her oath of office. Right-wing Trump supporters recently plotted to kidnap that state’s governor. These are far from isolated incidents.
Among the most fervent members of the Trump personality cult are significant numbers of aggrieved white people: Christian fundamentalist end-timers, anti-abortionists and opponents of gay marriage; QAnon and other conspiracy theorists; Second Amendment gun-rights fanatics; Bundyite sovereign citizens; white supremacists and white nationalists; members of ultra-right-wing militias such as the Oath Keepers; marching and torch-bearing neo-Nazis and other violence-prone groups and individuals.
Although the members of these factions represent a minority of Trump’s supporters, their numbers are sufficient to cause alarm. These factions overlap in membership. Many of the individual members of these factions are heavily weaponized. A number of these individuals favor civil war along racial lines.
How many potential lone-wolf terrorists might there be within these factions?
Trump, his congressional enablers and media cheerleaders are inflaming the toxic emotions of far too many Trump loyalists.
Andrew G. Bjelland, Salt Lake City
