San Jose State community members expressed disgust and devastation after a mob, angered over President Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election, overtook the U.S. Capitol Wednesday to halt the transfer of power to President-elect Joe Biden.
According to a Thursday article by The Los Angeles Times, 82 people have been arrested in connection with the violent mob Wednesday and 60 of those individuals were charged for violating the curfew in D.C. that took effect at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
The article stated arrests are still being made as officials review videos and images.
Scott Myers-Lipton, a local activist and sociology professor on leave for the 2020-21 academic year, said he was astounded the mob breached police lines and went into lawmaker’s offices.
He said he couldn’t understand how it was possible for the coup to wreak havoc, but they exposed themselves as white supremacists by waving confederate flags in tear-gas pervaded hallways.
“I've been to hundreds of protests and let’s put it this way, [city officials and law enforcement] know how to protect a building,” he said over the phone. “There were more arrests in San Jose [in May 2020 during Black Lives Matter protests] then there were on the day that domestic terrorists took control of the Senate and the House of Representatives.”
Myers-Lipton said many members of the mob that overtook the Capitol are white supremacists, neo-nazis, conspiracy theorists and extremists that are known people on the fringe of American society who look for opportunities to be empowered.
Public health sophomore Nick Zohourian said the coup on the Capitol is something far more than just “unamerican.” He said it’s a “cult of Trump.”
Communications junior Jasmine Chohan said it was a devastating day for America and Trump did nothing but incite it.
“Instead, he told those terrorists that he loved them,” she said over text, referencing Trump’s tweet toward the mob Wednesday that said, “Go home. We love you. You’re very special.”
Myers-Lipton said the Biden administration and the U.S. attorney general need to take steps to further place white supremacy on the edge of society and continue to enforce a multiethnic, multiracial democracy.
“President-elect Joe Biden needs to stop saying ‘this is not who we are,’ ” Myers-Lipton said, in objection to Biden’s address to the nation Wednesday. “Rather, he should say ‘This is not who we should be.’ ”
Myers-Lipton said the U.S. has done the work to expedite the removal of white supremacy in the past, specifically in the 1970s when the U.S. administration, and groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center, worked to cripple white supremacist organizations.
“This needs to happen again because most of the mob and other extremists are still free right now,” he said.
Twitter officials stated in a blog post today Trump’s Twitter account has been permanently suspended due to risk of further incitement of violence.
According to an article by The Washington Post today, politicians from both the republican and democratic cabinets are furious over the Capitol invasion and have suggested the president be impeached.
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo posted on Twitter Thursday that federal prosecutors might consider a charge against Trump for sedition under 18 U.S. Code §2383.
U.S. Code §2383 states that whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, engages, gives aid or comfort thereto in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the U.S. or its laws will be fined under this title, imprisoned for a maximum 10 year sentence or both. The individual would not have the capability to hold any U.S. office.
Myers-Lipton said the best case scenario is that Trump resigns or is impeached, otherwise “it is going to be incredibly destabilizing for our country, especially if he spends the next four years saying that Biden is an illegitimate president.”
