“Freedom of expression does not mean resort to sedition”

The armed forces of the United States defend democracy, not insurgency. The Joint Chiefs of Staff on Tuesday evening issued an unequivocal condemnation message to the attack on Congress last week during the proclamation of the electoral victory of Joe Biden by supporters of Donald Trump which guarantees his alignment with the Constitution and the peaceful transfer of powers on January 20.

The violent riots of January 6 “were a direct attack on the US Congress, the Capitol building and our constitutional process,” they say in an unusual statement the chiefs of staff of major branches of the US military.

“As we have done throughout our history, the US military obey legal orders civilian rulers “and remains” fully committed to the protection and defense of the Constitution “against all enemies, foreigners and national “.

Army commanders consider the attack on the Capitol “contrary to the rule of law” and stress that freedom of speech does not mean you can “resort to violence, sedition or insurgency. “.

Any act which alters the constitutional process “is not only contrary to our traditions, our values ​​and our oath but it is against the law”, concludes the press release, which confirms his commitment that Joe Biden becomes on January 20 at 46 years old . .º Commander-in-Chief of the country at a time when the army, like several police services in the country, is investigating the possible presence of some of its members, active or retired, in the riots.

Washington it was fortified like never before for the inauguration. Despite the FBI warning about the risk of armed protests in the 50 chapters State and capital, the Democrat maintains his intention to be sworn in on the stairs of Congress, the same stairs that Trump supporters took with violence last week.

Although FBI Washington bureau chief Steven D’Antuono said on Friday they had “no indication” that the protest could lead to mass violence, an internal FBI pre-protest report has was published on Tuesday. Virginia office in which it was noted that they had detected online conversations of several people calling “go to war” at the Capitol on January 6.

They spoke, for example, of “breaking windows”, “breaking doors” and “bloodshed” Black Lives Matter advocates and anti-fascists, relates the document, published by the Washington Post.

“Stop calling it a rally or a demonstration and get ready to go to war. We either have our president or we dieThey commented the day before the events in forums where some extremists even shared a map of the Capitol tunnels.

Second impeachment

Several old-guard Republicans announce their support for Trump’s impeachment The Justice Department has opened 160 cases and laid charges against 70 people. The numbers, they say, will increase exponentially in the coming days.

The FBI plans to file sedition charges against some of the protesters. The challenge, they admitted, is to prove that they intended to practice “the things they typed on their keyboard,” said District of Columbia Attorney Michael Sherwin.

The FBI did not rule out including rioters on Capitol Hill in the list of people who forbidden to take planes in the United States, as claimed by Chuck Schumer, the next Democratic majority leader in the Senate. “The insurgents who entered the Capitol come under the definition of threats to national security and they should be added immediately ”to the list to reduce their mobility, the Democrat asked.

The ceremony of January 20

Even before the Capitol Attack, Biden’s dedication ceremony was to be much smaller than on previous occasions and mostly virtual, with few opportunities to interact with the public. due to a pandemic. The capital “is ready” to guarantee the security of the act, said former FBI director Andrew McCabe, however concerned about what could happen beyond Washington and the lack of resources of the police. State to deal with possible attacks. .

For the first time in weeks, Trump spoke to the White House press pool, the rotating team of journalists that tracks his movements, and he did. with challenge to defend his reaction to last week’s seditious insurgency and accuse Democrats of provoking “violence” with their plans to pass his second impeachment today, a challenge that could result in his disqualification from public office.

“It seemed to people that what I had said was entirely appropriate,” Trump said of his mid-siege speech, when he reiterated his allegations of electoral fraud and called the insurgents “people very special, “which he” loves, “comments. This has elicited condemnatory reactions, not applause, not even among Republicans. Several ministers criticized his remarks, three of whom resigned a few days later.

Trump has said he is not planning to resign, as requested by Democrats and some Republican senators, because “we don’t want violence.” This is what will provoke, he warns, the Democrats’ plans to challenge him today for the second time, this time not for abuse of power or obstruction of justice, like a year ago, but to “Incitement to insurgency.”

Democrats have enough votes to carry out this indictment, which they deem necessary lesson to the president although there is only one week left in the White House.

Doubt is how many republicans they will join the initiative. Congresswoman Liz Cheney, daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, argued she would vote in favor of impeachment: “There has never been a greater betrayal of a sitting US president and his oath of the Constitution, ”she said.

Other members of the Lower House could follow in his footsteps, but it should not be forgotten that, despite the dramatic events, more than a hundred maintained their vote against Biden’s certification. In the Senate, there are also movements. worried about clear the trail of deceitRepublican Leader in the Upper House Mitch McConnell has made it known that do not oppose to the process.

“The lies of impeachment are the continuation of the greatest and most ruthless Witch hunt of the history of this country ”, warned Trump already in Texas, where he went to visit the new sections of the wall with Mexico.

His speech was riddled with disastrous warnings about the violence that could ensue if the process continued. Trump has come forward once again like a victim. This new indictment “causes enormous division and great pain beyond what many can understand, which is very dangerous for the United States, especially at such a fragile time,” he said afterwards. refusing to take responsibility for the events. January 6.

Copyright La Vanguardia

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