Why Were ‘Back-The-Blue’ Flags So Scarce on January 6th?
— Capitol siege photos/videos show few rioters with the flag!
The 2020 presidential election was constitutionally decided first by America’s voters in November and then by the Electoral College in December. Former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden defeated the Republican incumbent Donald Trump.
All that was required to complete the peaceful transition of power was for Congress to procedurally certify the election on January 6th, ahead of the customary January 20th Inauguration date. The US Constitution requires the sitting vice president, in his duty as president of the US Senate, to preside over the final vote count presented by the respective US House delegations who certify the votes presented from each state in the union.
The 2020 Presidential Election
GOPwinger Trump ran a violence-prone campaign to defeat Hillary Clinton in 2016. But 2020 saw a particularly harsh and violent campaign as Trump’s political operatives demographically targeted police and military, right wing militia groups, preacher-led Q-anon evangelists, biker and NASCAR fans and wrestling/UFC fighters into a hardcore GOPwinger coalition. Meanwhile, Trump’s corporate billionaire/millionaire golfing buddies poured in the money, and amusingly observed from the sidelines.
Trump Lost to Biden By Over Seven Million Votes
This was largely due to the states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania returning to their long-held traditional blue columns in presidential elections. Those states became anti-Clinton and went red in 2016, thus enabling Trump to become president.
But Trump never conceded the 2020 election!
He insisted it was fraudulently conducted and stolen by Democrats. In the aftermath of his defeat, despite Supreme and Federal Court rulings against his claim and numerous oversight decisions by state officials, Trump continued to rile his supporters into not accepting the final election result, essentially threatening to overturn the Constitution.
Trump’s last ditch effort to keep the White House was for him to demand that Vice President Mike Pence not to certify the election results. Pence claimed he had no constitutional standing to do what Trump was requesting. He declined. This infuriated Trump!
Thus, the table was set for Trump and his political operatives to coordinate with right wing militia groups and organize the very large January 6th rally which ultimately became a siege upon the US Capitol, causing numerous deaths and injuries. It was organized under the fiery banner of: Stop The Steal!
The rest is history!
Below, at the July 27th US House Hearing related to the January 6th insurrection, Rep. Jamie Raskin introduced a graphic video timeline of the pro-Trump forces attacking the U.S. Capitol:
Was violence the express intent behind Stop The Steal on January 6th?
You bet!
Why else invite right wing-trained militias to play a prominent role in a march on Washington DC, where a century of history has only seen peaceful protests?
The New York Times documented a 40-minute compilation of the timetable of The Capitol Siege. Note all throughout the NYT’s filming, only one Back The Blue flag is visible.
Telltale Hint Violence Would Rule The Day
Indeed, there was a clear indicator violence would rule on January 6th; that violence was intended to rule in an outright effort to prevent completion of the presidential vote certification.
With no certification, Trump probably thought he’d gain secondary options to hold onto his power. Perhaps he reasoned he’d find a way to declare martial law until landing what he hoped could become a favorable decision by a GOP-packed Supreme Court that included three of his appointees; or that Pence ultimately would become forced — supposedly for the “good of the nation” — to formally declare he would not certify the election.
This, by itself, would create constitutional turmoil and provide Trump wiggle room. After all, Trump lived a lifetime in business by tying things down with the courts, in order to get what he wanted. For him, why should keeping the White House be any different?
Much like Trump’s political operatives personified the Make America Great Again slogan into the fan-crazed MAGA anacronym, they also linked the Back The Blue flag to his law and order campaign. Everywhere Trump campaigned, those flags were prominent. They were widely seen at campaign events and on all of the boat and cruise-truck rallies. It supposedly had become the symbol that Trump was with the cops!
Yes, the Jan. 6th militarized and equipped insurrection force (see Pence’s hangman platform, the rope and the hand-ties, etc.) desperately tried to block the presidential certification of Congress. Moreover, it had every intention of thrusting violence upon the Capital & Metro DC Police, and there were reasons why the call for the National Guard became delayed.
How do we know?
Consider the scene of an olden day battlefield commander gazing out from the castle upon the invading army ready in wait at the gate. A sign to look for is what flags of alliance the perpetrators are flying, to know exactly who it is that you are up against.
Very few ‘Back The Blue’ flags were carried during the Trump Siege Upon The Capitol. The one I saw in a YouTube video became used as a weapon. Had those flags been circulating widely throughout the crowd that day it’s doubtful we would have seen the high level of violence that was wrecked upon the police.
The notable absence of the Back The Blue flag in the Trump crowd was a hint that violence was meant to come!
The fact is that Trump has never been with the police. Trump, as always, has only been for himself!
