In the immediate aftermath of the November 2020 presidential election, pro-Trump and other extremists announced their initial plans to protest President-Elect Joe Biden’s inauguration in Washington D.C. Those calls for largescale protests on or around January 20 attracted renewed interest following the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, with threats of additional extremist violence circulating on numerous online platforms. While it is impossible for anyone to predict with certainty how the events of the next week may unfold, recent history has shown that we cannot ignore potential threats from political and other right-wing extremists. January 17: Called off, or Recalibrated? There is increased online chatter about nationwide armed protests between January 16 and 20, and in Washington D.C. starting on the 17th and running through Inauguration Day. This threat is largely traceable to antigovernment boogalooers, who were planning a January 17 march in D.C. to support gun rights and protest government overreach. That event, under the names “Tree of Liberty” and “Refuse to be Silenced,” was cancelled in the wake of the January 6 violence. Protests at state capitols were likewise announced for January 17, and while these events were not explicitly cancelled, there is little online evidence of organized planning. (…) Posts advertising an Inauguration Day “Million Militia March” first appeared on “free speech” social media platform Wimkin just after the election. One of the earliest posts, from November 29, 2020, announced, “Millions of American Militia will meet in Washington, D.C. on January 20, 2021 for the purpose of preventing any attempt by the treasonous domestic enemy Joe Biden, or any other member of the Communist Organized Crime Organization known as The Democratic Party, from entering the White House belonging to We The People.” Longtime white supremacist Chester Doles posted at the time that his organization, American Patriots USA, was “proud to sponsor this great event.” Although the original post did not appear to gain much traction, in the days after the assault on the U.S. Capitol, screenshots featuring the “Million Militia March” fliers quickly spread across other platforms, including MeWe, Minds, Parler, Reddit, Telegram, Twitter, 4chan and more. While it is unclear which groups or individuals plan to attend the proposed march, the event has gained the attention of a range of pro-Trump and other extremists beyond the militia movement.
via adl: Furious Extremists Call for More Violence Around Inauguration Day
