The Follow-up Story

 

Let’s assume that everyone has already said what was obvious about the attack on the Capital - the mob, the damage, the police response, the instigation by Donald Trump.

Don’t even try to argue that one. He held a “Save America” rally that drew thousands of people.

You all saw what happened after he told the crowd “And after this, we're going to walk down there, and I'll be there with you, we're going to walk down ... to the Capitol and we are going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”

And off they went, unstopped, to storm the Capitol and wreck havoc for hours.

The media did a pretty good job covering it. There were even some pictures of the rioters smashing cameras and posing for photos, followed up with brief comments from members of Congress, mostly saying that this was a terrible thing.

That was after they were rescued by police and the national guard, the FBI and other agencies. There was celebration by some of those legislators that only four people died - three of medical problems, one was shot - until someone noticed the same police forces that used tear gas and force to break up Black Lives Matter protests in the street didn’t seem to be taking any action at all for hours, not until after a curfew was declared.

Then the protesters were ushered out, still taking pictures with the assembled police. For the record, as of Thursday afternoon, the official count was 52 people arrested and 14 police officers injured.

What’s left to say? There is always a second-day story to be written, then a Sunday story a few days later when there is more space and a little more time to reflect on what actually happened.

So, let’s pretend have to come up with some new things to write about. Some are obvious, some will take a long time to develop. Let me offer a couple of suggestions.

First, there has to be a tick tock. That’s a term used for the hour-by-hour or minute-by-minute story showing what happed where and when. We know the Trump rally ended just before noon, and that his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. and his lawyer, Rudy Guiliani, spoke just before him,

But, when was the rally scheduled? How did the word get out? When did a thousand or two thousand people start arriving?

And when did police start planning how to handle the rally? What was the communication between the Capital Police and other agencies? What were Republicans - and Democrats for that matter -doing during their enforced lockdown.

Then where did the decision not to make mass arrests come from? Who made it? Who else was involved in making the decision? And, of course, what will those arrested be charged with - trespass, vandalism, treason?

Tick tock is good to know.

 

Then there’s the question of whether this was an isolated incident. The Associated Press reported on Jan. 6 that protesters supporting Donald Trump demonstrated at statehouses in Georgia, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arizona, Nevada and Washington State. Some had guns, more held signs reading stop the steal or four more years.

Which leads to the best follow-up question, although it may take a long time to get the answer. Who paid for this all? Signs cost money, sweatshirts with slogans supporting President Trump cost money. So does paying  lawyers to defend 52 people. And putting up bail.

A good reporter might even try to find out where they stayed while waiting to try and overthrow Congressional approval of Joe Biden’s election. Did someone reserve a block of rooms, or were they all on their own. Normally when you get booked, police like to know where you are staying. Might be some interesting evidence left behind in a room.

So, that’s what we should be looking at during the next couple of days. I figure out it will take Congress at least that long to figure out what to do about Trump’s rantings that the election was stolen from him and that traitorous Republicans should be punished.

And, oh yes, we should be watching what the new administration will do about all this once they are sworn in.