Conservatives Blame Everyone but Trump Supporters for Capitol Attack

Conspiracy is the only language they speak.

• After four years of Donald Trump brainwashing, lying to, and activating violent motives in his followers, Michele Bachmann had the nerve to blame “paid rabble-rousers” for breaking in and vandalizing the Capitol.

  Evangelist Franklin Graham was just as obtuse, pointing the finger at Antifa.

  “The people who broke the windows in the Capital did not look like the people out there demonstrating. Most likely it was antifa.”

  As if Donald Trump didn’t say to the same group of people that very morning,

  “We're going to have to fight much harder … We are going to walk down to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators, congressmen and women, and we are probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them. Because you will never take back our country with weakness.”

  But Trump isn’t the only one with blood on his hands— Conservatives of every rank were fueling the fire, including media personalities like Christian radio host Kevin McCullough, who tweeted in response to the Georgia runoff election to “buy ammo.” McCullough’s now deleted tweet came only hours ahead of the attack on the Capitol.

  But of course, no true Scotsman. If all of the incitement of violence was going to come to fruition, Christian father-son duo David Barton and Tim Barton had already planned their out the day before the rally: “I don’t think our guys will be doing crazy stuff, but I think the other guys may be trying to attack our guys and provoke something.”

• Let’s take a moment to consider the unfortunate airline staff that had to work the flights leaving D.C. after Wednesday’s rally. Although it appears this Delta flight attendant came at Tennessee hate-preacher Greg Locke with the appropriate energy.

  Pastor Greg Locke @pastorlocke

  Dear @Delta, you should train your flight attendants better. As I got off the plane in Nashville, an off duty uniformed stewardess called me an a$$hole in front of everyone because my mask didn’t fully cover my nose. So I took it off and left it with her.

• Speak of the devil, here’s a Christian fundamentalist declaring another Christian fundamentalist not sufficiently Christian fundamentalist.

  Pastor Greg Locke @pastorlocke

  Mike Pence knowingly handed our country over to China. Let that sink in. #ViceJudas

• Pakistan has ended a barbaric “virginity test” on female rape victims that involves inserting two fingers into her vagina. If a woman feels loose, it is assumed she is not a virgin and lacks the moral authority to accuse her rapist of assault. This belated realization that raping women a second time to decide if you should believe them or not doesn’t quite feel like good news, but let’s welcome progress.

• More in the way of uncomfortable good news, Father Michael Pfleger, a well-known Catholic priest in Chicago, has stepped down from his position in the church while accusations of child abuse against him are investigated. While child sexual abuse is one of the most appalling crimes imaginable, you have to appreciate that the Archdiocese of Chicago is handling the matter with transparency— leaving the investigation up to the state, rather than shuffling the priest around to a new parish and handling the matter internally.

• Finally, Kevin Sorbo of God’s Not Dead tweeted this brief saga during the riots:

  David Goodman @DavidAGoodman

  Kevin Sorbo’s one-man show about what yesterday was like for Trump supporters, in four tweets.

  

  

  

  

If that wasn’t bad enough, he later got his Hercules butt kicked by Xena: Warrior Princess star Lucy Lawless:

Timo Tjahjanto @Timobros

Lucy Lawless , as badass as her namesake. Love her forever.