I see a lot of fantastic discussions, papers, threads, and op-eds about the insurrection from experts from various fields.

As a social scientist, I want to add that it's important to understand that collective action like we saw yesterday is due to *many* factors.

Yes, the leadership of Donald Trump played the central role in instigating the anti-Democratic effects--from his initial attempts to dismiss and discredit state votes to fomenting the insurrection yesterday.

Leadership matters a great deal for motivating collective action.

Of course, leadership doesn't occur in a vacuum. Trump was supported, enabled, validated and empowered by Republican elites for his entire term.

This came to head with the concerted efforts by GOP members of the Senate and House who tried to overturn the election certification.

The main attempt to overthrow a democratic process was by spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories.

This was primarily spearheaded on social media, which is why freezing Trump's social media accounts is such a big deal.

These social media account accounts were used to spread misinformation and organize, but this misinformation was laundered and legitimized by right wing media figures to millions of people.

From Fox to OAN to Newsmax, these false messages were spread to millions of homes.

This message is 100% worth your watch and share, not just on Twitter, but Facebook etc
https://t.co/xpqPnsMvq0

A message from a Republican leader and an iconic figure in our culture, who gets it, and maybe might pierce thru the fever dream too many fell into.

That is, please also share it with those co-workers, friends and family who don't realize the stakes of what is going on, and the near-miss to our democracy of what just played out.

In sifting thru video, I have seen not just the stupid things we all saw like the selfies and literally crapping on the floor. But people need to understand that there was also a harder, darker part...

The crowd chanting "Hang Mike Pence, Hang Mike Pence" as they stormed the police line looking for him (Note: his wife and daughter was also there with him),

officers literally crying in physical pain as the mass of the crowd did a coordinated "heave-ho" to physically crush them with their combined body mass, officers beaten and one killed with a fire extinguisher blow to the head...

News Analysis🔎The post-#Election push to pressure President Trump to concede, despite numerous credible allegations of #VoterFraud and ongoing legal challenges, is the culmination of a 4-year-long campaign against him. (Thread👇)

This campaign started in 2016 when the #FBI launched a politically motivated investigation of his campaign. During his subsequent 4 years in office, there have been consistent efforts to remove him from office.

#Infographic: an overview of some of the main efforts made against the sitting @POTUS.

This is an issue that transcends party lines, as it is not only an assault on Trump, but an assault on the office of the presidency, and with it, an assault on the foundation of America.

Politically Motivated Investigation:
The #FBI under President #Obama in 2016 launched a politically motivated investigation of the #TrumpCampaign.

Based on publicly available information, we know the investigation was initiated based on the thinnest of evidence: remarks made…

…by a junior #TrumpCampaign adviser to the Australian ambassador in London.

The investigation primarily relied on the discredited #SteeleDossier, produced by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele on behalf of the #Clinton campaign and the @DNC.

1. Thread.

In light of tomorrow's congressional session to record the electoral votes, and for conservatives and Republicans who claim to look for guidance to the Founders, a short thread from Federalist #68.

2. "It was desirable that the sense of the people should operate in the choice of the person to whom so important a trust was to be confided. This end will be answered by committing the right of making it, not to any pre-established body...

3. "...but to men chosen by the people for the special purpose, and at the particular conjuncture...It was also peculiarly desirable to afford as little opportunity as possible to tumult and disorder...But the precautions which have been so happily concerted...

4. "...in the system under consideration promise an effectual security against this mischief...As the electors, chosen in each state, are to assemble and vote in the state in which they are chosen, this detached and divided situation will expose them much less...

5. "...to heats and ferments, which might be communicated from them to the people, than if they were all to be convened at one time, in one place. Nothing was more to be desired than that every practicable obstacle should be opposed to cabal, intrigue, and corruption...

#DEEPSTATE Freaked Out #Trump 's Not Giving Up
1. The DS #Democrat #globalists never imagined Trump would fight this hard against the massive #electionfraud that made #Biden the pretend president.
Next

Every Republican active in politics during the Trump era should be remembered based only on where they drew the line.

Did they draw the line at his openly racist immigration platform?

Did they draw the line when Trump mocked a disabled reporter?

Did they draw the line when he was sued for fraud?

Did they draw the line when he said a Hispanic judge can't be fair because of his race?

Did they draw the line when he urged his supporters to shoot Hillary Clinton?

Did they draw the line when he boasted about assaulting women?

Did they draw the line when he encouraged violence against journalists?

Did they draw the line over his ties to Russia?

Did they draw the line when he tore up every global treaty that keeps the world safe?

Did they draw the line when he banned flights from Muslim countries?

Did they draw the line when his administration shredded civil rights for workers, rape survivors, and disabled students?

Did they draw the line when he banned transgender military service because Fox said he should?

Did they draw the line when he forced a tax bill that gave trillions to the rich despite public opposition?

Did they draw the line when he tried to strip 20 million of health care?

One Facebook worker to me on Trump's indefinite suspension from the platform: "All it took was an armed insurrection of the cap building and two weeks left of his presidency."

Thread

I'm supposed to be taking a break right now from Twitter. I was getting really frustrated by the Left, and the things they were saying about us, and more specifically about Ashi Babbitt. It seemed that once the vote happened, something clicked... the Left realized ⤵️

For our story today on the Capitol Police, I went on a fascinating tour of our archives, full of bomb threats, assassination plots and forgotten causes. (Imagine a Congressman getting arrested today in a Capitol men's room on sodomy charges...) Here's a sampling: 1/

The 1st mention of the Capitol Police involved the certification of Lincoln's election in 1861. “A few weeks ago many freely predicted that the counting of the electoral votes would never be peacefully accomplished.” 2/



The Vice-President finally announced that Lincoln and Hamlin had been elected, calming fears of unrest. 3/

When it came time for the inauguration of Lincoln, the object of an assassination plot, the Capitol Police said they would “admit no strangers except ladies.” 4/

The Capitol Police were often mocked. After someone defaced the building with oil and “a large quantity of blue ink,” they were faulted for not being able to catch the person. The Times said, “The Lieutenant devotes his time to the sale of lemonade and cake in the dome.” 5/

We're keeping track of state & local elected officials who participated in the insurrection. If you want to run against them (or if they resign -- as they should! -- & there's a special election), @runforsomething will help you. https://t.co/0Op0rhvfxv

A thread.../1

West Virginia: Derrick Evans, who has already resigned from the WV House of Delegates. /2

California: Leandra Blades, member of the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified Board of Education & Whittier City Councilmember Jessica Martinez. /3

PA: State Senator Doug Mastriano. /4

Tennessee: State Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver. /5

Trump is speaking but the mic isn't working.

Trump: "We will never give up. We will never concede--it doesn't happen. You don't concede when there is theft involved."

Trump: "Rudy, you did a great job."
Narrator: But, in fact, Rudy went 0-60.

Trump: "If Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election."

Do you want to see if your Representative failed to vote in favor of a resolution calling for the global repeal of blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy laws? Look below. ⬇️

I think we deserve an explanation as to why they don't value basic global human

Louisiana Representative Ralph Abraham (R) "Not Voting." @RepAbraham

Alabama Representative Robert Aderholt (R) "Not Voting." @Robert_Aderholt

Georgia Representative Rick Allen (R) "Not Voting." @RepRickAllen

Michigan Representative Justin Amash (L) "Present." @justinamash

Arizona Representative Andy Biggs (R) "Nay." @RepAndyBiggsAZ

Georgia Representative Sanford Bishop Jr (D) "Not Voting." @SanfordBishop

Texas Representative Kevin Brady (R) "Not Voting." @RepKevinBrady

Florida Representative Vern Buchanan (R) "Not Voting." @VernBuchanan

Colorado Representative Ken Buck (R) "Not Voting." @BuckForColorado

Alabama Representative Bradley Byrne (R) "Not Voting." @RepByrne

California Representative Ken Calvert (R) "Not Voting." @KenCalvert

Texas Representative John Carter (R) "Not Voting." @JudgeCarter

Georgia Representative Doug Collins (R) "Not Voting." @RepDougCollins

Florida Representative Neal Dunn (R) "Not Voting." @DunnCampaign

Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D) "Not Voting." @TulsiGabbard

Florida Representative Matt Gaetz (R) "Not Voting." @RepMattGaetz

Our latest YouGov/The Economist poll has a host of troubling findings about public confidence in the election.

Most shocking is that 86% of Trump voters say that Biden "did not legitimately win the election." 73% say that we'll "never know the real outcome of this election."

We also see the usual patterns in attitudes about mail-in voting and fraud. 88% of Trump voters say they believe that "illegal immigrants voted fraudulently in 2016 and tried again in 2020," for ex, and 90% believed that "mail ballots are being manipulated to favor Joe Biden."

Republicans are also exhibiting some... concerning... attitudes about the franchise, with 46% saying that "some people are not smart enough to vote" (27% among Dems) and 43% saying that people should have to pass a test before voting (15% for Dems).

89% of Trump voters think he should contest the outcome of the election in court, and 62% of his voters think it will change the outcome.

Fewer than half of Americans expect there will be a peaceful transition of power to a Biden presidency.

More here:

Infographic ℹ️ What Happened in #Atlanta on #ElectionNight?

In recent days, the fog of incomplete and conflicting information provided by interested parties has begun to clear. (Thread👇)

It now appears that a state election monitor was absent for a part of the counting process.

It is also clear that GOP #PollWatchers were prevented from meaningfully observing much of the process, even though they were allowed in the room.

1. RULE CHANGE
On Aug. 10, the State Election Board approved a new rule allowing election officials to start opening and scanning #AbsenteeBallots 3 weeks before #ElectionDay.

The state is currently being sued over the rule.

2. WATER LEAK
On #ElectionDay, ballot-processing work at the State Farm Arena was delayed. It was later revealed that the source of the leak was an overflowing urinal.

“The emergency delayed officials from processing ballots between 5:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.,” the report says.

3. SECURITY CAMERA FOOTAGE
Security footage from the arena shows workers moving around furniture after 8:20am.

Only some parts of the footage were made publicly available. Attempts from various parties to obtain the footage have been unsuccessful.

The “ebb and flow” analogy of the 2020 Presidential election. On election night we all knew the red title wave came in (flow). In that moment, we felt all the hard work, prayers and faith paid off. Only to be disappointed as the wave went out (ebb).