Washington Prepares For The Next MAGA/QAnon Assault On the Capitol (Updated)

The Washingtonian reports that grifter and con man Donald Trump is profiting off the QAnon rubes. Trump Hotel Rates Are Over $1,300 on March 4—the Date in a Wild QAnon Theory:

[Conspiracy theories] may be good for the business of the Trump Hotel. Room rates at the former president’s namesake hotel nearly triple from March 3 to 4—aligning with the latest QAnon lore that March 4 will mark the second inauguration of Donald Trump.

The hotel’s nightly rates in March range, on average, from $476 to $596. But on Trump’s imagined inauguration weekend, rooms leap to $1,331. Throughout his presidency, the hotel became a go-to hangout for Trump’s entourage and supporters, earning the MAGA-crowd moniker of “America’s living room.”

So, why March 4? The date began to spread after the Capitol insurrection on January 6 failed to stop the verification of Biden’s electoral victory. Prior to a constitutional change that moved the inauguration ceremony to January 20, the swearing-in took place on March 4 until 1933.

Once again, Donald Trump is providing “aid and comfort” to a seditious insurrection at the Capitol. 18 U.S. Code § 2383 – Rebellion or insurrection.

The Associated Press reports, Police uncover ‘possible plot’ by militia to breach Capitol:

Capitol Police say they have uncovered intelligence of a “possible plot” by a militia group to breach the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, nearly two months after a mob of supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the iconic building to try to stop Congress from certifying now-President Joe Biden’s victory.

The threat appears to be connected to a far-right conspiracy theory, mainly promoted by supporters of QAnon, that Trump will rise again to power on March 4. That was the original presidential inauguration day until 1933, when it was moved to Jan. 20.

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“The United States Capitol Police Department is aware of and prepared for any potential threats towards members of Congress or towards the Capitol complex,” the agency said in a statement. “We have obtained intelligence that shows a possible plot to breach the Capitol by an identified militia group on Thursday, March 4.” Police did not identify the militia group in the statement.

CNN does identify the domestic terrorist organization, the Three Percenters. Capitol Hill security increased around chatter about March 4 conspiracies:

Information provided by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security warned of increased chatter among extremists, including members of the Three Percenters extremist group, discussing possible plots against the Capitol on March 4, a date that conspiracy theorists have focused on, according to sources familiar with the matter.

[T]he Homeland Security Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a joint intelligence bulletin late Tuesday about extremists discussing carrying out attacks at the Capitol from March 4 to March 6, Melissa Smislova, a senior Homeland Security official, told two Senate committees on Wednesday.

An advisory sent earlier this week to members of Congress by Timothy Blodgett, the acting House sergeant-at-arms, said that the Capitol Police had “no indication that groups will travel to Washington D.C. to protest or commit acts of violence.”

But that advisory was updated in a note to lawmakers Wednesday morning. Blodgett wrote that the Capitol Police had received “new and concerning information and intelligence indicating additional interest in the Capitol for the dates of March 4th – 6th by a militia group.”

In her testimony to the House panel, acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman said her investigators had collected “some concerning intelligence,” but declined to provide any details publicly, saying that it was “law enforcement sensitive” and that she would provide a private briefing for the subcommittee members.

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On Wednesday, federal agents were seeking to determine whether there was an increase in the number of hotel rooms being rented in Washington (see above), as well as monitoring flights to the area, car rental reservations and any buses being chartered to bring groups into the capital, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The person could not publicly discuss details of the security planning and spoke on condition of anonymity.

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Capitol Police say that they have stepped up security around the Capitol complex since January’s insurrection, adding physical security measures such as the fencing topped with razor wire around the Capitol and members of the National Guard who remain at the complex. The statement said the agency was “taking the intelligence seriously” but provided no other specific details on the threat.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., said he was “very concerned” about potential threats Thursday and wasn’t sure whether the Capitol Police were adequately prepared to respond.

“I believe that there should be additional resources assigned to their efforts to sweep for explosives, for example,” he said. “And I don’t know to what degree that’s being done right now.”

Lawmakers were expected to be briefed later Wednesday by Capitol Police leadership in a closed session.

National Guard units are still guarding the Capitol. If this right-wing militia group actually shows up tomorrow, the Guard and U.S. military should meet them with overwhelming force and put down their violent seditious insurrection. No insurrectionist just walks away this time. They must be held accountable.

Then go and arrest the instigator of this insurrection, the owner of the Trump Hotel.

UPDATE: Like all conspiracy theorists, when their conspiracy theory is debunked, they simply create a new conspiracy theory to explain away their failure. They are never wrong. QAnon Theorists Switch Date to March 20 After No Trump Inauguration, Call the 4th ‘False Flag’ (excerpt):

[O]ver the past month, prominent conspiracists within the QAnon internet community began to doubt the March 4 theory.

Alex Kaplan, a senior researcher at right-wing media watchdog Media Matters for America, showcased the growing skepticism among QAnon influencers in an ongoing Twitter thread. The thread included screenshots of their posts to various chat platforms, such as Telegram, describing March 4 as a “false flag” constructed by mainstream news organizations and internal double agents to deceive true QAnon proponents.

“Can’t help but get the feeling that these ‘March 4 true inauguration’ stories are planned disinfo being peddled by the [injected] anons to dupe people into spreading probably nonsense theories that make the whole movement look dumb,” one QAnon influencer wrote in an online forum early last month, according to a screenshot that Kaplan shared to Twitter on February 10.

“Caution,” another wrote last week. “All the irresponsible talk about March 4th is very likely another setup to target members of the ‘Q community’ as extremist. Spread the word and do NOT go to any big events that day.”

Two additional influencers, who Kaplan said previously backed the March 4 conspiracy theory, seemed to have changed their minds entirely by Wednesday. The influencers respectively described the theory as a “false flag” and “a trap” in messages that appeared on separate social media platforms.

Responding to a Telegram thread that referenced “taking the fences down Around DC,” one influencer wrote: “So let me get this straight…they want to take them down 2 days before they ‘think’ something will happen on the 4th?!?! False flag coming!”

“March 4 is a Trap! Q knew,” the other said in a different post. “Is it a trap for [them] or is it a trap for us?”

Earlier, the same influencer claimed: “Anything/anyone hyping March 4 is suspect,” and called the March 4 conspiracy an “MSM false flag set up.”

Some QAnon supporters seemed to rebrand the March 4 conspiracy in the wake of community suspicion. While two individuals affiliated with the false theories simply suggested that Trump’s inauguration would take place some time in the spring, one man, identified as Ken, told Washington Post reporter Dave Weigel that the former president “will be inaugurated again on March 20” in comments over the weekend. Ken also believes that “Trump is still in command of the military” and “Biden is acting as president as a ruse while the Pope and others are rounded up,” according to Weigel.

Transcribed the March 20 stuff, if @travis_view knows what this means pic.twitter.com/doKxNw7Oaq

— David Weigel (@daveweigel) February 28, 2021

Note: Ken is an idiot. There is no such clause in the Constitution. He should take the time to read it.

The upcoming date will mark the 167th anniversary of the Republican Party’s founding. Former members of the Whig Party are said to have technically established the GOP during a meeting in Ripon, Wisconsin, on March 20, 1854.

And when the March 20 conspiracy theory fails to occur?

Isn’t it about time that this QAnon cult ends the same way as the Heaven’s Gate religious cult?