Forwarded from Syndiegram (Devin)
Twitter
Seth Abramson
WASHINGTON POST (1/19): Federal Law Enforcement Uncovers Massive Early-January Plot to Murder All of Congress; Plotters with Military Backgrounds, Who Had Trained to "Storm the Capitol," Planned to Gas Members of Congress in the Tunnels Beneath the Capitol…
"The January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol is just a preview of the kind of violence that Trump can provoke in his postpresidential phase, when he’ll be free of whatever paper-thin shackles kept him from only praising QAnon in private. He can enter a new phase of demagoguery, free to stoke whatever conspiracies he chooses as he holds rallies around the country and phones in to sycophantic media outlets. He can act the role of the handmaiden of the bloody political cleansing that Q believers dream about.
No matter what he does, Trump is still here, and he’s still the great hero of the Q mythos. For as long as he remains a figure on the political scene—for as long as he’s alive—Q likely will have some purchase on certain Americans’ minds. A few years from now, we may call it something else, but its essential qualities—a bitter sense of grievance, an enthusiasm for fantastic lies, a lust for redemptive violence—are those that define most extremist groups. In the minds of many Q believers, their enemies aren’t backing down, so why would they do so? The final reckoning has just been pushed back—yet again—to another day."
https://newrepublic.com/article/160998/qanon-after-trump-great-awakening-inauguration-day
No matter what he does, Trump is still here, and he’s still the great hero of the Q mythos. For as long as he remains a figure on the political scene—for as long as he’s alive—Q likely will have some purchase on certain Americans’ minds. A few years from now, we may call it something else, but its essential qualities—a bitter sense of grievance, an enthusiasm for fantastic lies, a lust for redemptive violence—are those that define most extremist groups. In the minds of many Q believers, their enemies aren’t backing down, so why would they do so? The final reckoning has just been pushed back—yet again—to another day."
https://newrepublic.com/article/160998/qanon-after-trump-great-awakening-inauguration-day
The New Republic
We Mock QAnon at Our Own Risk
Journalists laughed at followers of the conspiracy theory after an Inauguration Day prophecy failed to come true. But Trump-era extremists aren’t going anywhere.
Forwarded from Syndiegram (Kozy Raccoon)
Jacobinmag
Here Are 4 Better Responses to the Capitol Riot Than Expanding “Domestic Terror” Crackdowns
A massive law enforcement failure led to last week's disastrous Capitol riot. Now, many, including liberals, are pushing to give those agencies even more power as part of a
"“Ricky Vaughn” was among the most prolific far-right Twitter users working to spread disinformation during the 2016 election cycle. He posted racist and anti-Semitic photos and memes and routinely retweeted the @TEN_GOP account, which purported to belong to the Tennessee Republican party but, Special Counsel Robert Mueller revealed two years later, was actually run from St. Petersburg by the Internet Research Agency troll farm. In the MIT Media Lab’s ranking of top political influencers in 2016, Vaughn came in at #107—above NBC and CBS.
Vaughn has now been arrested"
https://www.lawfareblog.com/justice-department-prosecuting-american-election-interference-2016
Vaughn has now been arrested"
https://www.lawfareblog.com/justice-department-prosecuting-american-election-interference-2016
Lawfare
The Justice Department is Prosecuting an American for Election
“Ricky Vaughn” was among the most prolific far-right Twitter users working to spread disinformation during the 2016 election cycle. Why is he only now facing criminal charges for his attempt to