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Summary
- As MAGA supporters stormed the US Capitol, so far 4 people have died, and several got injured.
- NZ remains divided on the US Capitol situation, as many believe that Trump did not provoke the protest.
- Prime Minister Jacinda Arden is among those people who condemned the protest, terming it “wrong”.
The dramatic turn of events in the US capitol building that took place yesterday (7 January 2020) were strongly condemned by people from politics and otherwise, across the world. The protest left 4 protestors and one police officer fatally injured, while several people were arrested and injured.
Image Source: Shutterstock
A large group of Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporters stormed into Capitol Hill, broke windows, destroyed property, chanted support for President Trump and demanded the decision of the election be reserved and Trump remain President instead of giving the reigns into the hands of Joe Biden, the Presidential elect.
AUT lecturer gives her point of view
While people largely understand Trump’s speech earlier that day to be a code call to violence and protest, there are a few who believe that he did not say anything inappropriate and that his words were blown out of proportion.
Amy Baker Benjamin, who teaches International Law at the AUT believes that the protests were largely peaceful. While she does not support the violence that took place, she says there were thousands of people amongst which only a few decided to go into the Capitol Building and create havoc. Addressing people before the protest, Trump had asked his supporters to “fight like hell” while his ally Rudy Giuliani had urged for “trial by combat”.
Ms. Benjamin is of the view Trump’s words were misinterpreted and acted upon while the US President was merely trying to encourage the crowd to fight back the atrocities of the system and challenge the latest election results that will have Joe Biden take over as the next US President in the days to come.
Image source: Shutterstock
Divided Opinion
Professor for International Relations at AUT, Stephen Hoadley is of the view even the people who did partake in the protests in the Capitol building were relatively restrained and is appalled by how the protestors could storm into one of the most important buildings in the country.
Dr. Hoadley believes the protestors were directly influenced by the President and that even the attempt that he made to diffuse the situation later did not help much. This was with regards to a video of Trump in which he is seen asking the protestors to “go home in peace”, “you are very special”, “we love you all”.
He says it was a mixed message and not put across as sternly as it should have been.
NZ PM Jacinda Arden’s take on the situation
On 7 January, Prime Minister Jacinda Arden took to twitter to condemn the protest stating she shared the sentiment with the world stated that what took place was “wrong”. Mike Pence, the Vice President of the US condemned the protest and urged the senate to get back to work.
