A series of dress rehearsals of sorts have played out in a handful of statehouses across the country in recent months.
BOISE, Idaho — When President Trump-supporting insurrectionists on Wednesday stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the presidential election, the nation was shocked. But not unwarned. A series of dress rehearsals of sorts have played out in a handful of statehouses across the country in recent months. In May, armed protesters forced their way into the Michigan Statehouse to object to pandemic-related lockdowns. In August, self-styled « patriots, » anti-vaccination groups and other protesters temporarily derailed a special legislative session in Idaho that was called to address pandemic-related election issues. Less than three weeks ago, crowds forced their way into the state Capitol in Salem, Ore., to protest the building’s closure to the public during a special legislative session on coronavirus measures. « There’s a direct relationship between the growing paramilitary activity in the state Capitols, for sure, and what’s happening in D.C., » said Joe Lowndes, a political science professor at the University of Oregon who researches race, conservatism and social movements in politics. « They have the same kind of organizations and people involved. » In other words, the states — once called the « laboratories of democracy » by Supreme Court Associate Justice Louis Brandeis — have become training grounds for violent dissent. There are concerns that the unrest could continue, or get worse, as legislatures across the country return for sessions this month. « It’s that idea of the takeover as an act, partly as a symbolic act and partly as an act of direct political action, » Lowndes said. The Idaho Statehouse, with its classic sandstone and marble construction and soaring, eagle-topped dome, is one of a handful in the country designed to evoke the architecture of the U.S. Capitol. In August, angry protesters led by anti-vaccination groups and an anti-government organization started by Ammon Bundy called « People’s Rights » disrupted a special legislative session in part because they opposed a proposed law meant to shield businesses from liability related to the coronavirus.
