As Donald Trump faced indictment, Republican politicians scrambled to pledge their loyalty to him and his base. Some even suggested retaliation, with Representative Andy Biggs tweeting that they had entered a “war phase” and urged an “eye for an eye” response. Failed gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, continuing her bid for VP on Trump’s ticket, warned that armed Americans stood ready to defend him from prosecution. Representative Clay Higgins of Louisiana, a former sheriff’s deputy, issued a tweet that is difficult to decipher but implies a call to arms.
Many liberals dismissed the tweets as incoherent ramblings, but this is a mistake. Higgins is a savvy digital soldier with real-world paramilitary credibility, having begun his career at 18 as a military policeman in the Louisiana National Guard. Though he has a history of crossing the line, his fans appreciate his bravado and cultivate the veneer of a man who’s seen and done dark things. This image only enhances his appeal to the growing mass American movement that many political scientists and historians now identify as fascism, despite news organizations’ reticence to use the term.
Higgins and his colleagues allude to the threat of fascism, with Higgins tweeting about “perimeter probes” from “oppressors.” This language has resonance with QAnon adherents and the many more Trumpists who don’t identify with Q but whose rhetoric has been shaped by its mythology. Higgins also urged his followers to “buckle up” and “know your bridges,” using military jargon that connotes reconnaissance and the strategic seizure of locations.
While the civil war evoked by these tweets may be imaginary, there are real men with guns who subscribe to a conspiracy theory that sees the U.S. government as tyrannical and must be confronted militarily. Though the threat of violence should not be dismissed, neither should the complacency of those who assume that fascism can be defeated with humor alone. The stakes are too high, and the battle lines have already been drawn.
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