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Extremists are planning more violence ahead of Inauguration Day, experts have warned, in the wake of the US Capitol riots which left five people dead and dozens injured.
"We are seeing ... chatter from these white supremacists, from these far-right extremists – they feel emboldened in this moment," Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, told CNN.
"We fully expect that this violence could actually get worse before it gets better."
Twitter also warned of increased online chatter relating to violence in the days ahead.
“Plans for future armed protests have already begun proliferating on and off-Twitter, including a proposed secondary attack on the US Capitol and state capitol buildings on January 17, 2021,” the site said in a statement. President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be inaugurated on 20 January.
The social media giant took the extraordinary step of banning Mr Trump from the platform on Friday, citing “the risk of further incitement of violence” following the deadly insurrection on Wednesday.
The pro-Trump mob which stormed the Capitol on Wednesday in DC quickly overwhelmed law enforcement who were unprepared for the violence following the “Stop the Steal” rally, which saw the president riling up the crowd. Rioters quickly overtook police officers and breached the federal building.
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Trump supporters had been openly planning attacks on the Capitol online for the past several weeks, according to reports.
Social media had been flooded with extremist comments ahead of the attacks on the Capitol.
"We will storm the government buildings, kill cops, kill security guards, kill federal employees and agents, and demand a recount,” one message read, CNN reports.
Mr Trump had also been feeding his supporters via social media, specifically his Twitter account.
"Statistically impossible to have lost the 2020 Election," Mr Trump tweeted in December. "Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!"
During Wednesday’s attacks – which saw rioters smashing windows, using chemical agents, carrying firearms and explosive devices – Mr Trump asked the “great patriots” to act peacefully and leave the Capitol. But the president used the brief video statement to once again promote the baseless claim that the election was stolen from him.
He subsequently released another video to condemn all acts of violence and destruction - even though he had implored his followers to “march” on the Capitol earlier that day during the rally.
New analysis by Alethea Group, an organization combating disinformation, found an abundance of plans to commit violent acts on large social platforms like Twitter and Facebook, along with smaller site like Parler, which has become the site-of-choice for conservatives.
“So much of the conversation right now is the general making of threats,” Cindy Otis, vice president of analysis at Alethea, told The Washington Post. “There’s a risk of these particular dates leading to violence because that’s the kind of amped-up conversation we’re already seeing from people.”
The analysis also revealed that attacks were being planned in locations such as Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; Columbus, Ohio; and Salt Lake City, Utah, in the days leading up to Inauguration Day, and on the day itself.
On another conservative site, TheDonald.win, created specifically for Trump supporters, one anonymous post read: “Round 2 on January 20th. This time no mercy. I don’t even care about keeping Trump in power. I care about war."
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser declared state of emergency that would last until on day after Inauguration Day following the riots. A 7-foot-tall “non-scalable” wall was also constructed around Capitol grounds and would remain up for at least 30 days.
trench0989 on January 10th, 2021 at 02:46 UTC »
Republicans 1/21/21: We had no indications they would try this again, but we condemn their actions in the strongest terms possible, we’ll make sure they all be charged with misdemeanors.
KYUSS03 on January 10th, 2021 at 02:36 UTC »
The more I think about it the more insane it is. The president demanded that the VP openly defy the constitution and toss out election results. Once he felt betrayed by the VP lawfully disobeying him, Trumps final stand was to march his supporters to Congress who planned to kill the VP and/or members of Congress. And some of the police meant to guard the capitol were in on it and let them in.
It failed but who's to say what's in store for the future. Things will not go back "to normal" anytime soon especially with culted members of society pledging their allegiance to Trump. Plenty of whom are violent confederates with weapons, members of the police and military, with an open hatred for the left.
51ImperfectCoupe on January 10th, 2021 at 02:35 UTC »
Six thousand two hundred armed National Guard troops will be waiting for them.
Good luck with that, "patriots."