Elections: Memories of the Capitol storm fuel concerns in the US election year

Choose
Memories of the Capitol storm are fueling concerns in the US election year

On the third anniversary of the storming of the US Capitol, President Joe Biden warns against another Republican presidency Donald Trump. “This is the first national election since the insurrection of January 6th, when a dagger was put at the throat of American democracy,” said the Democrat on Friday (local time) during a campaign appearance in the US state of Pennsylvania. “As we begin this election year, we must be clear that voting is about democracy.”

The political mood in the USA is heated. The upcoming presidential election is the first since the dramatic upheavals surrounding the 2020 election, which ended in an unprecedented outbreak of violence. As things stand, there will be a possible rematch of the race between Biden and Trump in 2024. This is fueling fears that chaos and violence could break out again.

The long shadow of January 6th

On January 6, 2021, Trump supporters stormed the parliament building in the capital Washington. Congress met there to formally confirm Biden’s victory. As a result of the riots, five people died. Trump had previously incited his supporters in a speech with the unsubstantiated claim that the election victory was stolen from him through massive fraud – he has since repeated this statement several times.

This was also the case on Friday at a campaign event in the state of Iowa, where the first Republican primary election will take place on January 15th. Anyone who wants to run as a presidential candidate for the Republicans or Democrats must first prevail in internal party votes. “We have won twice and we will win a third time,” Trump said to supporters who greeted him with chants of “USA, USA, USA.” This election is the last chance to save America. “The battle begins January 15th in Iowa and Joe Biden’s banana republic ends November 5th, 2024.”

In Pennsylvania, Biden expressed concern about the possible consequences of such rhetoric. “Trump and his supporters not only advocate political violence, they laugh at it,” he warned. The Republican is ready to seize power. There is no doubt “who Trump is and what he is up to.” Political violence is never acceptable in the United States, Biden said. “Never, never, never.”

There is considerable disagreement in the USA about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. According to a recent survey, around a third of adults believe that Biden was not legally elected at the time. A quarter suspect that the FBI was behind the storming of the Capitol – a claim also spread by right-wing populist media that law enforcement authorities have repeatedly denied.

Increased threats against public officials

At the start of the new election year, US Attorney General Merrick Garland complained on Friday about increasing threats against officials and democratic institutions in the country. Garland said there has been a “deeply disturbing increase in threats” against FBI agents, federal judges, presidential candidates, members of Congress, military personnel and election workers. Just in the past few days, several bomb threats have been received against courthouses across the country. And the day before, investigators arrested a person who threatened to kill a member of Congress and his children.

“This is just a small snapshot of a larger trend,” Garland said. “These threats of violence are unacceptable.” They threatened the democratic structure in the country. After January 6, 2021, the Department of Justice launched the largest, most complex and resource-intensive investigation in its history to hold those involved accountable. “To date, we have charged more than 12,150 people and secured over 890 convictions in connection with the January 6 attack,” Garland said, emphasizing: “Our work continues.”

dpa