Donald Trump is inciting another insurrection right before our eyes

The coup is ongoing, and the GOP is 100% behind it. But justice is prevailing, as the walls close in on the authoritarian.

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Yesterday, a man with an AR-15 and ties to January 6th and the Proud Boys tried to breach an FBI field office in Cincinnati before being killed in a standoff with police for much of the day. It came days after Donald Trump’s home was searched by the FBI, and after GOP leaders and Fox News pundits ramped up hate and violence against the FBI and the Department of Justice.

Trump is inciting another insurrection, as extremists online talk of a “cold civil war” and “getting armed” and “ready for battle.” And Republicans have helped Trump foster this environment, so tethered to Trump that they believe they have no choice but to go all in on defending criminality — even now as it’s been revealed by the Washington Post that Trump had allegedly stolen top secret documents about nuclear weapons, which he could be conceivably giving to foreign governments. That is treason.

But Trump is no longer in power, and people who are now more powerful than him are bringing him to justice. The January 6th committee has closed in, and presented blockbuster evidence against him regarding the insurrection. He’s at the center of several investigations, including in Fulton County, Georgia by the district attorney. And he spent eight hours this week invoking the fifth amendment over 400 times in New York, regarding the investigation by the attorney general of him, his company and his family in that state.

The New York Times @nytimes

Attorney General Merrick Garland broke his silence on the search warrant federal agents executed at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. Here are three takeaways from his statement.

nyti.msHere are the main takeaways from Garland’s statement on the Mar-a-Lago search.The fact that Attorney General Merrick B. Garland felt compelled to speak at all says much about the high stakes and the possible pitfalls of the investigation.

The Justice Department has also been investigating him regarding the attack on the Capitol, having subpoenaed former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, and sending indications Trump could be charged.

And yesterday Trump and the GOP were checkmated, boxed in by Attorney General Merrick Garland, who called their bluff on releasing the warrant for the search at Mar-a-Lago. Garland said he asked a judge to unseal it, provided Trump agreed — throwing it back to Trump. The smart national security journalist Marcy Wheeler outlined three ways that Garland spoke as if Trump might be indicted. It’s worth a read.

emptywheel @emptywheel

Three Ways Merrick Garland and DOJ Spoke of Trump as if He Might Be Indicted

emptywheel.netThree Ways Merrick Garland and DOJ Spoke of Trump as if He Might Be Indicted - emptywheelTwice in his short 500-word statement yesterday, Merrick Garland used language that admits the possibility that the former President might be indicted.

Now it appears that the the authoritarian, such a narcissist, will do something he resisted and which his lawyers probably think is a bad idea — as he could have made the warrant public himself for days, but didn’t do so — and allow the warrant to go public, lest he be seen as completely weak and hiding something. That will allow the American people — and the now-fretting GOP — to get an idea of what he was doing with top secret documents he refused to return. And the GOP is coming out looking worse and worse as the days go by.

There’s no question we are in a dangerous time, and that Trump is resorting to violence and inciting his storm troopers. What happened in Cincinnati will unfortunately happen elsewhere. The Department of Homeland Security had better be investigating and arresting MAGA extremists.

The GOP walked into a trap it created for itself, defending Trump immediately in a knee-jerk way. They bet their entire future, and winning the House and Senate, on Trump. They see no choice but to allow for the violence if that’s what it takes to win the elections.

These people are completely morally bankrupt, as many of them privately believe Trump has done something dangerous with top secret documents, which appear to be about nuclear weapons and national security. They know, however, that their base is immersed in the cult of Trump, and they’re afraid to do anything but back him. And many others of the GOP politicians and leaders are simply true Trumpists, locked in the cult, believing he is above the law.

But justice is prevailing. Garland is more powerful than Trump, as are the state attorneys general and the district attorneys working on cases against him. With a brief statement yesterday, the soft-spoken Garland blew Trump down and momentarily silenced the GOP. Trump’s only power now — and it’s not to be downplayed — is to ramp up violence. But he and the GOP are powerless to stop Garland and and the investigations.

The walls are indeed closing in on Trump. It will only continue, however, if Democrats continue to retain power. Thankfully Garland and the DOJ have until 2024. And the state investigations will continue as well. Extremist groups will be countered by a Department of Homeland Security that is under control of a Democratic administration, and violence will be met with force, as we saw yesterday.

Democrats must use the threat to democracy in the election campaigns to make sure they retain power in Congress, so that current House and Senate investigation can continue and new ones can be opened. Don’t listen to all the noise (especially from bad Never Trump Republican columnists). Just organize like democracy depends on it, and get people out to vote.

We may — may — have come further in taking down Trump than we realize. Now is the time to stay alert, focused, determined and energized.