The images in the news yesterday of the formal certification of the US election result by US politicians were terrifying. Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol and thereby the seat of the US Congress, the US legislature. The situation quickly escalated. US President Trump, who is still in office, appealed to protesters to act peacefully. However, he did not clearly ask them to leave or criticise them. He still maintains that he did not lose the election. By contrast, his Vice President, Mike Pence, publically demanded that Trump supporters leave the Capitol peacefully. US President-elect Joe Biden has called on Trump to officially accept the election results. Police and security forces were able to secure the building. The session in Congress continued. There is obviously a (probably small) proportion of the population that will not stop at anything, including violent and armed protests. This is without doubt certainly not true…
