Morning Briefing: Poll Reveals Increased Republican Support for Donald Trump and Capitol Rioters
Three years after the Capitol Riot, 'Republicans are more sympathetic to those who stormed the U.S. Capitol and more likely to absolve Donald Trump of responsibility for the attack.'
Morning Briefing: Three years after the Capitol Riot, “Republicans are more sympathetic to those who stormed the U.S. Capitol and more likely to absolve Donald Trump of responsibility for the attack than they were in 2021,” according to a new poll published by the Washington Post-University of Maryland.
Ray Epps, the target of far right conspiracy theorists and accused of being a federal agent, is scheduled to be sentenced next week and “federal prosecutors are seeking a six-month prison sentence.”
Alex Harkrider will appear before a judge “after waiving his right to a jury trial in connection with federal charges” related to the Capitol Riot.
Coby Dale Green, who was convicted of attempting to “burn down a doughnut shop that hosted an event for drag queens” in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was sentenced to “five years in prison and three years of supervised release under a hate crime enhancement.”
In Brattleboro, Vermont, “graffiti deemed to contain white supremacist and neo-Nazi messaging was discovered on a mural downtown,” however, no group has taken credit or been connected to the vandalism.
Patriot Front, the neo-fascist White Supremacist group, hacked a electronic road sign in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the signed reportedly displayed “the words ‘America First’ before promoting the group.”
Must Reads
Jordan Green writes that “America is coming up on the three-year anniversary of the day former President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol. The attack upended the orderly and peaceful transfer of presidential power to Joe Biden during Congress’ certification of the 2020 election and ultimately resulted in the loss of seven lives and dozens of injuries to law enforcement officers. The FBI has arrested more than 1,200 people on federal charges related to the siege of the Capitol. The leaders of the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys — two far-right extremist groups — are already serving long prison sentences for seditious conspiracy, and hundreds of others have pleaded guilty or been convicted by juries on various charges… Despite an 814-page report by the now-disbanded House Select January 6 Committee, and hundreds of criminal prosecutions and civil lawsuits, significant questions remain unanswered about how the attack on the Capitol was organized and the extent to which the actions of the violent mob were coordinated with the effort by Trump and his allies in Congress to thwart the transfer of power.” [Raw Story]
William Loughridge writes that the “anchor of evangelical support for Israel lies in their eschatology. Evangelical Christian theologians frequently discuss the nature of Judaism in relation to Christianity, foregrounding the relationship between the Jewish people and the ‘Last Days,’ or the end of the world. While some evangelicals only cite the covenant between God and Abraham as the basis of their support for Israel, others believe that the establishment and security of the modern state of Israel is essential to bringing about the Second Coming of Christ. These evangelical Christians hold to a view known as dispensational premillennialism: the beliefs that biblical prophecy must be read literally, Israel and the Church are different entities, Jesus will physically return to Earth, and Christians will be taken to Heaven via the rapture before seven tribulations, among other things. This theology, directly tying the physical existence of the state of Israel to the eschaton, is reflected in the policy positions of many prominent evangelicals—Speaker Johnson among them.” [Brown Political Review]
Chrissy Stroop writes that “even as the major mainstream newspapers and magazines now worry about democracy in the abstract – and, to be fair, sometimes also about immigrants and abortion access – they blithely continue to print the kind of anti-trans rhetoric that has been fueling state-level persecution of trans people for years, escalating with frightening rapidity. Republicans want to take that persecution national, but even in a best-case scenario in which Democrats hold the presidency and the Senate and retake the House, political persecution of trans Americans will continue to escalate in red states. We know that because 2023 has been another record year for anti-trans state legislation – over 500 bills were filed, 75 of which became law – and 2024 promises more of the same.” [openDemocracy]
What to expect from Radical Reports: Morning Briefing provides a daily round-up of reporting on the Radical Right; Extremist Links offers a weekly round-up of extremists activities including the white supremacist and militia movements; Narratives of the Right delivers weekly analysis of the current narratives in far right online spaces and promoted by right-wing media; and Research Desk provides monthly highlights research and analysis from academia on the Radical Right.