Why today’s date means so much to believers of QAnon

Security is being reinforced around the US Capitol today as some right-wing conspiracy theorists gear up for what they believe will be a second, secret inauguration, writes Harriet Sinclair

The QAnon conspiracy has evolved to endorse Trump’s big election lie (Getty)

The news that security had to be reinforced ahead of today should come as no surprise, but nonetheless raises the sad question of whether the US Capitol is being transformed from a hub of democracy into what one lawmaker described last week as “a fortress”.

Today – 4 March – is, for those unfamiliar with QAnon vernacular, the date of what right-wing conspiracy theorists believe will be an alternative inauguration, returning Donald Trump to the White House. As such, there is naturally the potential for violence.

Tackling the ongoing threat – and make no mistake, conspiracy theorists and various other violent fringe groups have more than one date circled in their diaries – poses something of a challenge for Capitol security and lawmakers who understandably want to feel safe in their own workplaces but don’t want to turn Capitol Hill into Alcatraz.

Prior to the riots, the US Capitol was almost uniquely accessible to the public. Groups of schoolchildren, tourists and politics nerds of all stripes could take a tour and see where laws were made. Members of the public could stroll past the iconic architecture without facing security checks. 

During a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing, Senator Angus King, pondering the future of the Capitol, said last week: “How do we allow the American people to go in the rotunda, to tour the Capitol, to picnic on the grounds, to play with their kids? It seems to me that, going forward, that is one of our challenges. We want security, but I would hate to see the US Capitol turned into a fortress.” Quite.

But the old adage that hard cases make bad law rings true in this situation. That the US Capitol has been breached in such a manner just once since 1814 suggests that a rush to militarise areas of DC is overkill, and will in the long term prevent the kind of open democracy of which America has long boasted.

At the same time, leaving things as they stood prior to the riots is currently not an option either. Threats against the Capitol did not just emerge in the past few months – but the rioters’ success in breaching the building on 6 January has given security and lawmakers pause for thought. And seeing such a successful assault on the Capitol will no doubt have emboldened those who would wish to commit similar crimes.

Lawmakers now have a rocky path to tread, and must find a balance between maintaining the open nature of the US Capitol and protecting its inhabitants, as they carry out their duties, from being descended upon by deluded mobs. Today is just the beginning.

Yours,

Harriet Sinclair

US news editor (west coast)