Nazi, Confederate and Supremacist flags on the …

For the first time in the country’s history, the Confederate flag, emblem of the secessionist southern states that defended slavery during the Civil War (1861-1865), flew inside the US Congress: the image Wednesday that hit millions more of Americans.

“The Confederate flag arrived at the United States Capitol, which did not happen during the Civil War,” Johns Hopkins University political historian Joseph M. Adelman said on his Twitter.

The symbolic force of this act is crucial in a country where controversy over the validity of Confederate and slave-owner emblems was rekindled last year with the massive anti-racism protests and police brutality of the Black Lives Matter movement (Les black lives matter).

Although for its supporters, the banner represents the heritage and pride of their ancestors, it was adopted throughout the twentieth century as a symbol of resistance by white supremacist groups, which reinforced its racist and segregationist character in the country.

Something that, however, Trump prefers to ignore, whose electoral base is made up of many of these radical groups, like the Proud Boys, present in the violent assault on Congress, which forced security forces to shut down the building. and hang it up for a few. hours the legislative session which definitively proclaimed Joe Biden as the future President of the United States.

But the Confederate flag was not the only controversial symbol raised by supporters of the Republican tycoon during the brief takeover of the Capitol.

Green, yellow and red

They also waved other flags, such as the green flag of the fictitious Republic of Kekistan, which mimics the war flag of Nazi Germany and represents the so-called Alt-Right – a far-right and white nationalist current. – and Gadgsen’s yellow, with a snake in the center and the message “Don’t tread on me”, originally associated with libertarianism, but which in recent years has been adopted by the ultra-conservative Tea Party movement and the militias patriotic anti-government.

Likewise, there were numerous flags from the last Republican election campaign, which read “Trump 2020”, and the characteristic red caps with the initials MAGA, from the Trumpist slogan “Make America Great Again” .

The clothes of some participants also revealed their violent intentions: many wore military clothing, helmets, elbow pads and knee pads, while others were more explicit and wore black T-shirts with the message: “MAGA Civil War , January 6, 2021 “.

Anti-Semitic

Others wore T-shirts or sweaters with anti-Semitic messages, such as the acronym 6MWE for “6 million was not enough” in reference to the Jewish Holocaust, or the caption “Auschwitz Camp, Free Labor” reference to the most famous Nazi concentration camp.

A prominent place in the Capitol Riots also had the symbols of the far-right QAnon movement, which defends conspiracy theories ranging from the belief that Trump will save the world from a Satanist pedophile ring until the vaccines make them sick and are used to control the masses.

The most important reference of this group was one of its members known as Q-Shaman, who entered the room with a painted face, a cap with buffalo fur and horns, a naked torso and an American flag.