Anatomy of the pro-Trump mob: How the former president's rhetoric galvanized a far-right coalition

ABC News / Disney ^ | February 3, 2021 | By Deena Zaru

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Experts say Trump's rhetoric helped galvanize right-wing elements.

Nearly a month after a pro-Trump mob violently stormed the U.S. Capitol, a clearer picture is emerging of the individuals and groups involved as federal authorities arrest and charge people who allegedly participated in the riot.

Former President Donald Trump’s supporters -- 74 million of whom voted to give him a second term in 2020 -- are diverse in background and ideology and come from all corners of the United States, and those who stormed the Capitol represent just a fraction.

But to some experts, the hundreds who took part in the Capitol siege represent some of the most fervent and radical adherents of the “Make America Great Again” movement and others caught up in the frenzy of the day. They say attempts to unite those extremist elements fell apart after Charlottesville but gained renewed momentum in 2020, with racial unrest, the pandemic and most recently the unfounded controversy over the election.

Cynthia Miller-Idriss, a sociology professor at American University who studies extremism and far-right movements, said that those who stormed the Capitol are a “loose coalition” of groups from across the far-right spectrum.

“These were people who were radicalized and participated in an insurrection, it’s just that some did so in a very planned way, and I think others ended up being caught up spontaneously in mob rioting," Miller-Idriss said.

For the experts, the most prominent force that unified hard-right adherent, militias and other Trump supporters and whipped them up into a frenzy behind the idea that the election was stolen -- Trump himself.

And Trump, unlike past presidents, gave these disparate groups a national platform unlike any they'd had in modern American history with the instantaneous recognition and feedback of social media.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Deena Zaru, Deputy Digital Editor for ABC News' Washington, D.C. bureau, where I manage social accounts, set strategy and coverage priorities by monitoring and analyzing digital trends and data.

​ I've been covering the intersection of pop culture and politics since 2015 for CNN and now, for ABC News.

My career at CNN began with an internship in 2009 and spans nearly seven years. I worked as a guest booker for CNN's "State of the Union," and a digital producer and writer for CNN Politics until 2018.

I am Palestinian-American and fluent in English and Arabic.

[MayflowerMadam]

“Mob”?

[jdsteel]

You should’ve put on a “hurl alert”.

[agere_contra]

Trump won the election in an absolute landslide.

Antifa were let into the Capitol where they caused mayhem while clutching American flags.

Deena Zaru is really bad at this.

[shadeaud]

And she is dumb as a doorbell when seeking out the truth

[Gene Eric]

>> Trump won the election in an absolute landslide.

Yup. Joseph Stolen was appointed, not elected.

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

FIXED: “They say attempts to unite those extremist elements fell apart after Charlottesville but gained renewed momentum after //successful leftist agitprop// in 2020, with racial unrest, the pandemic and most recently the unfounded controversy over the election.”

[17th Miss Regt]

Cynthia Miller-Idriss, a sociology professor at American University who studies extremism and far-right movements, said that those who stormed the Capitol are a “loose coalition” of groups from across the far-right spectrum.

Like Antifa?

[DesertRhino]

The media and DC is infested with foreigners who despise everything Scott America. They are thrilled about the coup.

[Vision]

“He showed Americans that they can win!” (angry voice)

[DesertRhino]

I see the Palestinians have moved beyond the Olympic Games and hijacking airliners.

[mikelets456]

Oh good God-—How long do we have to put up with these propagandist lies. I’m tired of the “Nazi-—KKK” BS lie. The Democrat party and their platform are actually that of the Nazis/socialist party.

[bray]

Did she look into the Antifa involvement in the riot? Of course not, she is a tool for the Dems.

[Flick Lives]

I thought “mob” was racist or something.

[HighSierra5]

She obviously has no clue about our heritage,patriotism and revulsion to tyranny. She’s ...... never mind.

[HighSierra5]

Mob is only racist when referring to BLM and Antifa rioters. Get with the plan Stan.

[chajin]

Don’t need to read anything after “mob.”

BURNING DOWN A CITY IS A MOB. A HALF MILLION PEOPLE PEACEFULLY MARCHING IS AMERICA.

I never thought the Reichstag could happen here.

[GailA]

yep

[TTFlyer]

Where’s your burqa, woman. Rag head women are to be little seen and never heard.

[traderrob6]

I heard a line on one of the Star Trek TV series by the Whoopi Goldbergs’ character......”Truth is in the eye of the beholder”.

That IS the classic liberal/progressive mindset. No right, no wrong, no absolute truth’s just what’s right to you.

Gene Roddenberry believed that crap implicitly as do the modern left.