The Cost of Justice Served

Many who respect the rule of law and the need to hold those who flaunt it accountable want to see Trump and those who enabled him indicted. Regardless of the potential outcomes, we need this to happen. For the sanctity of our democratic system, we need this. For the viability of our diverse sanctuary, we need this. For our belief and trust in our system of government and laws, we need this.

I believe we are on course to recover our adherence to the rule of law with a President and Department of Justice who seem determined to right the wrongs of the previous administration. Correcting this will take time, and many are impatient to see justice. I am also aware and very concerned about the potential outcome of charges and indictments among a relatively small group of citizens. As we learn more about those among us who slavishly support Trump and his ideologies, it becomes clear that this small but determined portion of our citizenry remains fully convinced of the false premises that drive their fanaticism.

As we learn more about the movement that brought an attempted insurrection to our Nation's Capitol, we need to be aware of the potential for more widespread violent reactions to charges and indictments of the false idols they appear to worship.

Storming through America's Red States, House Members Greene and Gaetz on their America First tour are practically sanctioning armed uprising. Gaetz was recorded claiming, "The Second Amendment is about being prepared to take back our country. He weakly walked this back by saying, "I hope we don't have to do this." But the message was clear.

A recent "God and Country" rally in Dallas featured disgraced General Michael Flynn, proposing the idea that true Americans may have to stage a coup similar to the event in Myanmar to take back our country.

These examples are only the most widely reported among many calls for armed, violent insurrection aimed at restoring Trump to the Presidency. The arrests of several members may have chastened violent, anti-government groups such as The Proud Boys and The Oath Keepers, but they are not going away. The attack on our Capitol fomented and planned online could be just a first act. The ultra-right-wing fools who carried this out were motivated to stop the certification of Joe Biden as President after the win over Trump. Still online, they spew hate and invective about every act of the Biden Administration, profess that Trump is the rightful President, and claim that he will be reinstated, even if violent overthrow is required to make it happen. Had we not seen what these people could do, we might write this off as just inflammatory rhetoric. But we have seen it. Watching angry, white men attack Capitol police with flagpoles and bear repellent was heart-wrenching. We need to be on guard against the possibility that worse can happen. Imagine the same angry, white men armed with guns.

When I imagine the next stage of this insanity, I envision State Capitols overwhelmed and invaded, law enforcement outnumbered and overrun, and even the possibility of some complicit sympathizers in police or military aiding these efforts. In our recent history, we could not have believed anything like this. Now it is entirely conceivable. While these deluded extremists are relatively small in number, they have the weapons and the will.

Does any of this mean we should abandon efforts to bring justice to the many criminals who took advantage of us for their personal gain? It does not. Does it mean we should tread carefully to avoid these potentially dangerous circumstances? It does not.

When the American Revolution began, the delegates from the Thirteen Colonies certainly knew the danger they were inviting.

If we allow the possibility of violence based on a bed of lies to dissuade us from the literal task of saving our Democracy, we will have surrendered. The pseudo patriots who commit these atrocities will, if they should succeed, eventually turn on those they put in power. They do not seem to recognize the horrors they could be unleashing. History tells us this is what could happen. We cannot let this happen, no matter what the cost.

Justice has to be served, even if the cost is violence against our institutions.