In front of the US Capitol, where the occupation and invasion incident occurred, I can’t forget the woman who was holding back tears while listening to people singing American songs.
The woman shouted at me asking, “Why are you crying?” And said, “I’m getting angry and all sorts of thoughts. Why did this happen? Inside the Capitol? Then, something that can’t be imagined is happening here. “
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There was also a “Hinomaru” in the Capitol occupied by Trump supporters (photographed by the author on January 6, 2021).
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Supporters heading to the Capitol before the president’s call
On January 6, 2021, a large rally of Trump supporters protesting the “injustice” of the US presidential election and a march to the Capitol took place in the capital, Washington. He entered Washington on the 5th and acted with them.
Following on from the article “That Capitol Occupation Case Happened After a Gentle March” published on January 9th, and “Supporters Heading to the Capitol saying’Fight for This Country'” published on January 10th. Tells the story mainly on the premises of the Capitol, which is not widely reported in Japan.
The large-scale rally was held at a venue set up in a square near the Washington Monument. President Trump mentioned the march to the Capitol several times at the end of his speech, but many had already begun walking towards the Capitol, which was about a 20-minute walk away, before he said.
One of them, Chris (69), was unemployed but was self-sufficient, connecting trains and buses and crossing the Americas from California for two days.
“Trump didn’t drive us to march at the rally. It was planned for some time. It was windy, cold and shivering, and I didn’t come to hear Trump’s story. State by state. I wanted to sue that we stole our vote by marching to the Capitol, which was about to find the result of the Electoral College vote. “
As I climbed high and took pictures, many marching people looked up and waved with a smile.
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“There is something unimaginable happening inside the Capitol.”
By the time I arrived at the Capitol, Trump supporters had already occupied the outside of the Capitol building, and the grounds were packed with supporters. “TRUMP 2020” and the big flag of the Star-Spangled Banner are fluttering here and there.
“We, the people!” “USA!” And so on, everyone sang “Stars and Stripes, Forever” and “Amazing Grace”, and when they finished singing, cheers and noises echoed. .. The voice was loud but the atmosphere was peaceful, and I was shooting with a smile while holding my cell phone.
A white woman in her twenties says, “I’m very happy to be here with everyone. It’s an incredible experience,” he said with joy. A man wearing a costume from the Revolutionary War is beating a drum and walking around.
Most people wore the usual outfits of yarn caps, hoodies, jeans and thick jackets, but some were helmets, bulletproof vests, and members of the fully armed armed organization Militia.
One of them was a former Army soldier in North Carolina who told me, “I’m ready to fight to regain my country.”
Eventually, information came in that “some of the supporters have invaded the Capitol, causing confusion with the police.” Due to the large number of people, mobile phones cannot be connected, and it is not possible to check what is happening inside on SNS.
The woman in front of me is holding back tears as I listen to people singing American songs in high spirits. When I asked, “Why are you crying?”, The woman shook her voice and said, “I’m getting angry and all sorts of thoughts. I’m proud to be here. But I saw what was inside the building. Why did this happen? I had to do this to hear our voice. Inside the Capitol. There’s something I can’t imagine here, “he said, crying.
More and more people are suffering from tear gas hurting their eyes, wearing bloody bandages on their heads, and being carried out lying down. Suddenly, the tension of being at the forefront of the battlefield spread.
A man coming out of the building says, “We are losing in numbers. Armed guy, go inside!” A woman in her twenties, who looks normal, tried to go up, so the man stopped, but she ran up saying, “I will fight too!”.
The truth is unknown whether “Antifa” was mixed in
Eventually, when we were outside, we were suffocated by the tear gas shot by the police officers, and we heard shouts from all over the place, “Get away from the building!” And “Get your children and women out of the premises first!” There was also information that the National Guard would come to suppress it.
From time to time, my cell phone seems to be connected, and messages from friends and acquaintances living in New York and California appear on the screen intermittently asking for their safety.
An emergency alert was repeatedly displayed on the screen stating that “Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington issued a curfew from 6 pm to 6 am on the 7th.”
A grenade can be heard from inside the Capitol, and the flash illuminates the Capitol brightly and violently.
Those who entered the Capitol grounds are some of the supporters who marched from a large protest rally. Only a small number of supporters who entered the premises further invaded the interior.
Later, the supporters around him shouted “Antifa!” And “Antifa!” To the person who tried to break the glass, and a man wearing a red hat supporting Trump took control of him. I saw it in the video.
It is reported that it is “fake news” that members of the left-wing movement organization “Antifa” that denounces President Trump and protests against racial discrimination are mixed in, but images that doubt his involvement There is also information, which may become clear in the future.
“What did we get by doing that?”
Chris, who came by train and bus from California, mentioned earlier, marched to the Capitol. However, he learned that there were people who broke into the building and left the place. He then called out to those who came to the Capitol later, “Don’t break into the building.”
“The press blames Trump for this incident. We are responsible adults. We acted on our own initiative. It’s strange to blame Trump. Don’t break the law. Do that. So what did we get? “Trump supporters are beasts,” the press wrote, and they were just getting more and more disrespected, and that’s what happened. “
Trump supporters firmly believe that there was “injustice” in the presidential election.
Amanda, Alabama, who I met at the January 5 rally mentioned in the last article, said, “If Biden is elected president in a fair election, I respect it and, of course, support it as my president. But it was President Trump who won. Despite all the evidence of fraud, the media and the judiciary are working together to drag Trump down. Why can’t we see the truth? “
An elderly man on the grounds of the Capitol tweeted to me.
“I’ve been protesting fraud all the time. I’ve taken legal steps, but all the roads have been closed.”
What on earth did they want to do in Washington? No matter how much the presidential election fraud is shouted locally, it will not reach the capital, Washington. We had no choice but to gather at the Capitol to convey our thoughts directly to the members of the Diet, and ask for a number to appeal to everyone.
That “pure thought,” however, has been counterproductive, rather than reaching national affairs, due to some radical actions.
(Posted at any time)
++ Profile of Mitsuyo Okada
Okada / Mitsuyo Writer / Essayist
Born in Tokyo. Graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University and obtained a master’s degree from New York University. After working as a reporter for a local newspaper in the United States of a major Japanese newspaper, he travels back and forth between Japan and the United States, depicting the daily lives and sorrows of American citizens. He has also lived in the Midwestern United States. Bungei Bunko’s essay “The Magic of New York” series has a cumulative total of 400,000 copies since the first in 2007. The series is complete with the 9th series “The magic of New York never ends” published on May 9, 2019. Other books include “American Family” and “New York Japanese Education Circumstances” (both by Iwanami Shinsho).
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