Update

The GOP Vigil for Patriots was cancelled. They decided not to show up at their headquarters because Donald Trump cancelled his press conference.

In the Atlanta Journal-Constitution today, there was an article by political journalists. They reported that on January 6 in Cobb County, where I live, there will be a gathering to acknowledge the political violence that took place in Washington DC. It won’t be the kind of gathering that most of you will attend.

A group of Republicans will meet at the Cobb GOP headquarters at 799 Roswell St NE, Marietta, GA 30060, which is about 6 miles from my home. I won’t be there. But if you are so inclined, you can witness a pile of people who think that the insurrectionists were patriots. They weren’t. They participated in political violence, and were out to kill elected representatives of the U.S. government, especially Vice President Mike Pence, and Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. And for your information, the program will begin at 5 P.M. but be there at 4:30 to register and have some Trump vodka.

On the other hand, you might want to consider what the Democrats think about the day. Instead of a day to honor the so called patriots, it more like a “homage to treason.” The violence that took place on January 6 was the direct result of orders from Trump and a band of his surrogates.

Up until the last election, Cobb County has been a bastion for Republicans and conservative folks. During Trump’s term in office, the county turned very blue. Some have called it a seismic shift. For example, when I first moved to Cobb (1993), all five commissioners were white men. Now all the commissioners are women, three of them Black and two of them white. The Chair, Lisa Cupid, is a Black woman. Cobb’s voting patterns have also changed. Up until 2016, presidential and governor elections were in the Republican column. In 2016 the county voted for Hilary Clinton, in 2018, we voted for Stacey Abrams, and in 2020, Joe Biden.

The Cobb GOP is now a gang of right-wing deniers of the truth about the 2020 election and the storming of the Nation’s Capital. I’ve driven by their headquarters many times, but I know that I will avoid Roswell Road on the 6th.

Remember

On January 6, the United States Capitol was attacked by hundreds of American terrorists, right-wing hate groups, and individuals who thought they were patriotic in attacking the very center of the government of the United States. On this date, which will live in infamy, the United States was attacked by violent right-wing men and women, who were acting on orders from the President of the United States. They were not patriots.  They were criminals.

Hassard, J. (2022–forthcoming). The Trump Files: America in the Years of Trump