Experts have warned that calls for violence have only intensified as the incoming Biden administration prepares for the inauguration on January 20.
By hindustantimes.com | Edited by Kunal Gaurav
PUBLISHED ON JANUARY 9, 2021 10:22 PM IST
The US Justice Department charged 15 people on Friday for their involvement in the violence on Capitol Hill, but reports suggest the threat of another such assault has not abated. Several organizations that monitor hate and extremism on online platforms had issued warnings of possible violence on January 6, but law enforcement agencies were caught off guard when supporters of US President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol. .
On January 4, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which tracks and counters hate, wrote a blog warning of threats of possible violence when congressional leaders were supposed to meet and certify the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. . ADL said many extremist Trump supporters were framing rallies as a last resort to prevent Biden from being sworn in as the next president of the United States.
The organization had warned that online conversation among potential attendees had increased in the days leading up to the rally. While ADL made it clear that it was unaware of the credible threats of violence planned for January 6, “the combination of an extremist presence at rallies and the heated nature of the rhetoric suggests that violence is a possibility.”
“In response to a user who wondered what happens if Congress ignores the ‘evidence’ that President Trump won the election, one user wrote: ‘Storm the Capitol,'” the blog post says, referring to a chat on thedonald.win, a -Trump online forum.
Read also | Explained: How Trump Could Be Impeached Again In A Few Days
Experts have issued a similar warning that calls for violence have only intensified as the incoming Biden administration prepares for inauguration on January 20. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt told CNN that white supremacists and far-right extremists “feel emboldened right now.” “We fully hope that this violence can get worse before it gets better,” Greenblatt told the US media network.
The extremists vow to return to Washington before Biden’s inauguration, including after five people, including a police officer, lost their lives in the violence that occurred Wednesday after Trump’s rally. “Round 2 on January 20. This time without mercy. I don’t even care about keeping Trump in power. I care about war, ”an anonymous person posted on thedonald.win.
Close
.
