The case for punishment of Donald Trump for inciting insurrection at the Capitol focused for much of today on his encouragement of domestic terrorism.
So it was good timing, perhaps not coincidental, for an op-ed in USA Today by Conner Eldridge and Joyce White Vance, both U.S. attorneys in the Obama administration. Eldridge was U.S. attorney for the western district of Arkansas and now practices law in Rogers.
In conclusion, they write:
It’s past time to acknowledge and reject perspectives and institutional impediments that have prevented the government from treating domestic terrorism as a priority. The Biden administration can mandate a no-tolerance policy for those who refuse to see white supremacists and other extremists for the serious threats and criminals that they are. We cannot ignore the reality that both systemic and direct racism are reasons the domestic terrorism threat has been minimized and were among the catalysts for the violence at the Capitol. We all know that the response would have been much different if a group of Black Lives Matter protesters had marched toward the Capitol, much less stormed it.
As the nation focuses on the Jan. 6 insurrection and before the memory of it fades, now is the time to make the changes we need to ensure a focused and sustained effort, led by the White House, to prevent domestic terrorism. If we do not take these steps, history tells us more Americans will lose their lives at the hands of domestic terrorists. We must not allow that to happen.