"Leave the rifles at home..."

The ultra-right in the US owns guns and operates. The left is not far behind

They knew about it. And they clearly saw in the summer of 2020: armed groups are active in the States. And others are ready to use weapons. Or at least show. So what - Chekhov is right, and the "loaded gun" on the stage of the American drama will still fire?

The storming of the Michigan Capitol on April 30, when members of the Freedom Militia with weapons after the "Rally of Patriots of America" ​​stormed the Senate demanding an end to coronavirus restrictions, led the state's Republicans and Democrats to condemn them. But President Trump, according to The Associated Press, "called them 'very good people' and urged Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to 'make a deal with them.'

He also tried to induce the US Congress to make a deal on January 6, when, during the approval of the election results, he called on thousands of his protesting supporters “to demand that Congress do the right thing and count the votes of only legally appointed electors” (i.e., those whom he recognized . - D. P. ). “...All of you will march to the Capitol,” Trump called, “and peacefully and patriotically make our voices heard. <…> We must get rid of weak congressmen… So, go ahead!..”

But it did not work out patriotically - the march was an attempt by the head of the executive branch to put pressure on the legislative branch.

It did not work out peacefully either: the media bypassed the pictures of the crowd rushing to the Capitol. Many remembered how in 1814 it was burned by enemies.

And it became clear why the chief of police of the District of Columbia, Robert Conti, asked Trump supporters who were ready to come to the rally from all over the country: leave the rifles at home. “We have information that someone intends to come to the city with a firearm. We won't tolerate it." But the police, and journalists, and witnesses of the events claim: they saw the weapons of the protesters ... Just imagine - a battle in the US capital!

Meanwhile, armed far-right militias have been known for many years. They are in many states. Aryan Nations, Base (a network whose goal is to create a white ethno-state), National Alliance, Patriot Front, United Ohio Sheepdogs and Trump's glib defenders - Proud Boys. There are dozens of them.

When a member of the "Civil Watch" in New Mexico shot a man, the state's attorney sued the militia to stop their attempts to replace the police during the protests. And they were in different cities that summer.

On July 16, the Congressional Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism held hearings on the problem of extremist groups and their danger to the country, police, activists, and ordinary citizens.

Experts believe that the image of a marginal militia, an enemy of the central government, has been replaced by a “defender of the president in the fight against the elites and the “leftist conspiracy.”

"It's time to act," Peter Diaz, the leader of the Coyote armed group in Washington State, told The Washington Post. What is it about?

The question is answered by the Georgia militia. While "taking" the Capitol in Washington, they came to the State Capitol, writes the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffenspenger, who did not "search for 12,000 votes for Trump", left the building.

Similar cases have been reported from Arizona, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, and elsewhere.

But the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution, which allows citizens to own guns, is for everyone. In the state of Washington, where Diaz lives, there is the Gun Club. John Brown". His mission is to fight racism. During the summer, its members guarded protests in Seattle and Tacoma from violent right-wing radicals. It is part of a tradition that has given birth to other similar organizations such as the Socialist Rifle Association, the Trigger Warning Queer & Trans Gun Club, or the Black Coyote Collective of Los Angeles.

Individuals now own 393 million guns in the United States. It is legal. And, as we can see, not only Trump's supporters, excited by his defeat, but also ideological opponents of the ultra-right, outraged by the events of January 6, own it.

However, there is also the National Guard, whose combat mission is to suppress civil conflicts.