Lawlessness in the Name of Law

From last evening’s online Washington Post: Last night, Trump supporters drove to the Oregon state capitol. “Armed with rifles, pistols, knives and clubs, the far-right demonstrators at one point charged into a smaller group of liberal counterprotesters, knocking at least one activist to the ground.”

Sounds as if they are training for likely confrontations after the election. Aspiring Autocrat Playbook: Create chaos. Claim fraud if you lose the election. Declare an emergency and proclaim election results to be invalid. Assume protestors will take to the streets. Encourage armed right-wing vigilantes and militias to attack and intimidate peaceful protestors. Ignore police misconduct and enlist police in your cause. Proclaim that you’ve saved the country from anarchy.