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It was a stealth attack, with a diversionary maneuver and three-staged leadership, that almost succeeded
The events in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021, and leading up to that day, are gradually becoming clearer, and we can hope that the Congressional Committee to study those events will fill out the picture in sharp detail. But even now we can see parts of the finished picture and make a rough sketch of the likely plans behind it.
Trump has claimed many times that he knows more than anyone, including his generals, about many subjects. His attempts to reverse the results of the 2020 election do show some grasp of military tactics. He apparently has conceived of his campaign (or in German, sein Kampf) for that objective as a war with as a series of battles, psychological, legal, and physical, culminating in the January 6 physical and psychological Attack on Congress. (Let’s accept that it was a battle at the Capitol Building, but it was clearly an attack on Congress.)
Preparation for the battle began in the weeks before, with Trump inviting an army of volunteers to assemble for a “protest demonstration” in Washington on January 6. His signal to them to arm themselves was coded in phrases like “it’s going to be wild”. That was a stealthy tactic to avoid alerting Capitol Police about the battle preparations, but it was enough to alert many of his supporters to bring defensive military clothing and gear, chemical weapons, physical impact weapons, cutting weapons, and in…
