The Big Picture – 
By Glynn Wilson – 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – If Donald Trump and his so-called “conservative” Republican followers — especially police officers and members of the military — really want to do away with any semblance of American democracy and install a white nationalist dictatorship here in the United States, I really wish they would just come out and say so.

Maybe then we could have an actual debate on what form of government we really want here, and let the people vote on it. They won’t do it because they know the vote would fail.

I really was trying, and hoping, to hold off on this commentary until after Christmas. But there is breaking news that must be dealt with now.

As I got up on this cold, first day of winter 2021-2022 and turned on the TV news, the local CBS affiliate WUSA 9 was reporting that Mike Fanone, who became one of the faces of the Capitol Riot after he was brutally attacked by the Trump mob Jan. 6, says he has resigned his position as an officer with the DC Metropolitan Police Department and will be serving as a law enforcement contributor with CNN.

The Washington Post confirmed this with CNN.

Fanone was dragged into the melee Jan. 6 by members of the mob and beaten during the Capitol insurrection, then later publicly excoriated lawmakers and others who downplayed the attack. But he came under attack himself by Trump supporters and members of his department. Apparently Fanone’s appearances on national television caused consternation among police officers and commanders, who derided him in private internet chat forums.

Fanone says he voted for Donald Trump in 2016 but did not support his reelection, and spent months after the Jan. 6 incident repeatedly warning about threats to democracy, often alongside CNN anchor Don Lemon.

But apparently his public appearances didn’t go over well with some fellow officers.

“Clearly there are some members of our department who feel their oath is to Donald Trump and not to the Constitution,” Fanone said Monday in announcing his resignation.

This is more evidence that many cops and military personnel and veterans were on Trump’s side, and many still remain in favor of overturning Biden’s election and installing Trump as America’s first dictator, many for racist reasons.

We were among the first and only news organizations to report within days after the insurrection that there were cops on The Hill, people in the military in the Capital Region and members of Congress who were in on inciting, planning and helping to carry out the attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power and short-circuit a democratic election, and we were accused by some of engaging in a conspiracy theory at the time — in spite of video evidence that cops were removing barricades and inviting the mob onto the closed off Capitol grounds being set up for Joe Biden’s inauguration.

Inside Job: Were the U.S. Military and Capitol Police Ordered to ‘Stand Down’ to Allow Trump’s Mob to Storm the Capitol? Evidence Suggests The Insurrection on Jan. 6 was Not a Spur of the Moment Accident: It was An Attempted Overthrow of American Democracy and Almost Succeeded

Fanone said there are just two current D.C. police officers he still counts as friends.

“I no longer felt like I could trust my fellow officers and decided it was time to make a change,” he said.

That is disconcerting at least, but should not be surprising, considering how many other police officers and members of the military who supported Trump took part in the insurrection, and still stand by Trump’s bogus claims that the 2020 election was stolen — contrary to all the evidence.

Fanone had spent months recovering from the physical and emotional aftermath of the Jan. 6 events. He returned to limited duty in September and went back to work just five years short of eligibility for his pension. He had wanted to work at the training academy but was assigned to a division that analyzes crime statistics.

He expressed disappointment with that job, saying he believes commanders were trying to shield him from fellow officers who were critical of his public stature. Fanone said it instead made him feel “like a child who did something wrong and was being tolerated.”

His full police arrest powers and firearm were returned to him earlier this month, a milestone he said was important to push back against people who might accuse him of being forced out.

Fanone joined the force about 20 years ago. He answered a citywide emergency Jan. 6 and rushed to the Capitol to fend off the pro-Trump rioters. He was dragged off the West Terrace, pummeled unconscious with fists and poles and repeatedly stunned with a Taser on his neck. He suffered a heart attack and a traumatic brain injury.

His police radio, badge and bullet magazine were ripped off, and one person tried to yank the gun from his holster.

“We got one! We got one!,” a rioter yelled, “Kill him with his own gun!”

Fanone was dragged to safety and later recounted his story to The Washington Post and on television, becoming an instant symbol of a police department that had come to the rescue of the overrun Capitol Police, and in the words of D.C. Police Chief Robert J. Contee III, “saved democracy.”

Fanone continued to speak out, often without required permission from the department, discussing his slow recovery from physical and emotional trauma as well as his growing disdain for people and lawmakers who didn’t agree an insurrection had occurred.

In July, he joined other officers testifying before Congress about their experiences. He slammed his fist on the table, saying, “Nothing, truly nothing, has prepared me to address those elected members of our government who continue to deny the events of that day. And in doing so, betray their oath of office.”

He later stood next to President Biden as he signed the bill to award officers who fought the mob the Congressional Gold Medal.

Fanone also joined a Capitol Police officer and toured offices on Capitol Hill seeking to meet with lawmakers who voted against awarding the medal to officers. He jumped into an elevator with one representative who voted no, and said that lawmaker refused to shake his hand.

Fanone said Monday he had no regrets about his public actions over the past several months, viewing speaking as necessary and “as a continuation of my service” as a police officer who was at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Fanone did not criticize department commanders or other police leaders, but said that “in a lot of ways, our department has forgotten about Jan. 6 and has allowed itself to become distracted from what happened.”

“All I do is serve as a reminder of that,” he said.

Reforming the Military

So if we do nothing to reform our police departments and the military, when Trump or another Republican who wants to be a dictator like him comes along and calls on their help again, the insurrection could turn out differently.

The Pentagon is supposedly updating its personnel policies to address concerns of growing extremism within the military and to hold service members accountable for the views they express on social media, officials said Monday, according to The Post.

The new rules are being drafted due to revelations that military personnel and veterans were among those who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pledged when taking office this year to study how prevalent the problem may be and to take steps to eliminate it.

Senior U.S. Defense Department officials said the Pentagon’s approach will not expressly prohibit membership in extremist groups — and does not target particular ideologies or political leanings, despite the prevalence of right-wing groups that participated in the Capitol attack. Instead, it focuses on addressing “actions” and will rely in large part on individual service members or outside law enforcement agencies to report “concerning” behavior.

The prohibited actions — particularly online — are (supposedly) strict. Now, even clicking “like” on a social media post espousing extremist views can get a service member into trouble, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.

“Liking something with the intent to promote or endorse the extremist activity would be violative of the policy,” though the Defense Department is “not actively screening” troops’ social media and intends to address such activities only “as an incident comes to light,” an official told reporters during a telephone briefing ahead of Kirby’s news conference at the Pentagon.

The expectation, officials said, is that military personnel will expose their colleagues who run afoul of the rules.

It’s unclear, however, how broadly the revamped policies will be enforced — or whether they will change the Pentagon’s understanding of how significant the problem is.

Officials said Monday that documented cases in the individual service branches “were in the low double digits over the last several years, culminating in about 100 cases in 2021, which represents — we believe — an increase.”

A consortium at the University of Maryland released a report last week showing that since 1990, 458 crimes tied to extremism involved veterans or active-duty U.S. troops.

At least five service members have been charged in connection to the Jan. 6 riot, including an active duty Marine Corps officer and two soldiers each in the Army National Guard and Army Reserve. To date, only one of those individuals has been discharged from the military.

Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, who had been a military reservist, was removed from the Army in May. He wore a “Hitler mustache” to his civilian job as a Navy contractor and was openly racist around colleagues, according to federal prosecutors.

Wisconsin National Guard soldier Abram Markofski, who pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building, was sentenced Dec. 10 to two years of probation and a $1,500 fine. Yet Markofski is still serving as a Guard soldier.

“The Wisconsin National Guard was waiting for the issue to play out in civilian court out of respect for the judicial process, and the command is now contemplating its courses of action,” said Maj. Joseph Trovato, a spokesperson for the Wisconsin National Guard.

Separately, a man accused of pepper-spraying police at the Capitol enlisted months after being interviewed by the FBI. Spec. James Phillip Mault was charged in October.

At least 55 military veterans were charged in the insurrection, ranging from former privates who served for short periods to retired lieutenant colonels with full careers in uniform.

Say What You Mean

If these people really do not like the messiness of democracy, holding fair elections and living by the results of the vote, why don’t they just come out and say they wish we could go against our entire history and become a monarchy, with kings and queens from royal families influenced heavily by the Catholic Church?

Or would they like some other kind of government? Maybe a white, Protestant government? A country where African-Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans and gay people should not have the right to vote? If that’s what they want, why don’t they just say so, and we can put it to a vote?

Because they know it would never survive an election.

That’s what they are really advocating for. If they came out and said it, the Republicans would never win another election. They have to pretend to like Black people, other minorities and gay people, so they can get a few of their votes at election time.

When will people stop listening to them? Maybe when the press and the media stop kowtowing to them?

We stopped a long time ago, in the early days of the internet. As a result, we are not allowed on social media news feeds, because we do not engage in the pretense of lying to try to get readers from all sides. We moderate comments and don’t allow crazy trolls spouting falsehoods.

This is what is needed to foster democracy. Fake objectivity is clearly not the answer. The secret is in creating pro-social groups.

Related: Part III: How to Create a Functioning Communications System to Save Democracy and the Planet

The empire of the United States is often compared to the Roman Empire, and some philosophers think this country is on the verge of a similar collapse. You won’t get Joe Biden to agree with that.

But just for the sake of inspiration, I am reminded of the movie Gladiator, with the great Roman general Maximus played by Russell Crowe. Remember the ending?

Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) was a tyrannical dictator who assassinated his own father to take power, Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), who wanted to abolish the Senate and appease “the people” with 150 days of “games.” But Maximus killed Commodus and handed Rome back to “the people” by reinstalling power with the Senate.

Perhaps Fanone should run for office, or better yet, challenge Trump to a duel. Now that would make for great television.

Long live democracy, and dog support the press that keeps it out of the darkness, shadows and whispers of Plato’s Cave.

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