Pro-Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol following a rally with President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. | Source: Samuel Corum / Getty
In one of the most recent examples of why critics describe the MAGA movement in terms of it being a cult, a man who was arrested and indicted after video footage showed him participating in the infamous riots at the U.S. Capitol is trying to pretend like he didn’t threaten more political violence like we saw on Jan. 6, 2021, if Donald Trump, a convicted felon, is sent to prison for his crimes.
But Philip Anderson, a Black man from Texas who was shown storming the U.S. Capitol as part of the so-called “Stop the Steal” rally in which Trump encouraged his supporters to participate in the political ensuing violence they made good on, failed to delete a fateful social media post before it was preserved in a screenshot and went viral.
It was in that context that Anderson was outed as threatening even more political violence if Trump is imprisoned.
On Saturday afternoon, Anderson — who is still facing felony and misdemeanor charges for his participation and presence at the Capitol riots — shared his feelings with the world by logging on to X, formerly Twitter, and posting a call to action of sorts to his more than 115,000 followers, encouraging them to “Stock up on guns, ammunition, food, and medical supplies.”
Anderson went on to explain the motivation behind his social media post.
“If democrats wrongfully throw Donald Trump in prison weeks before the election then the time for talk is over,” Anderson added.
A screenshot of the post showed Anderson later deleted the post.
The irony, of course, is that Anderson is already facing the prospect of going to prison for allegedly engaging in the type of political violence in which he is encouraging others to participate if the nation’s criminal justice system holds Trump accountable for the dozens of felonies for which he was convicted earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Trump is scheduled to be sentenced later this month after he was found guilty of paying hush money to a porn star via illegal means for political purposes.
Anderson, for his part, is an interesting case study in showing blind loyalty to a cause that doesn’t reciprocate it.
He was arrested more than a year ago for his alleged actions at the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, and charged with “felony offenses of civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding,” according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice. “In addition to the felonies, Anderson is charged with misdemeanor offenses of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building.”
Court documents including video footage show Anderson wore a “TRUMP 2020: Make America Great Again” sweatshirt; used a megaphone to implore other rioters to join him in “occupying the Capitol;” entered the Capitol building; exited the Capitol; pushed up against a police line preventing people from entering the Capitol; encouraged other rioters to join him; and pushed against another police line before finally being “repelled by law enforcement.”
Political violence wasn’t a new concept to Anderson when he was shown on video among the Capitol rioters, who assembled at Trump’s direction in a failed effort to prevent the certification of President Joe Biden’s election.
In October of 2020, Anderson was shown getting brutally punched by counter protesters during a rally in San Francisco.
The incident reportedly left Anderson with his two front teeth knocked out.
Anderson has also allegedly threatened former Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy with physical violence.
This is America.
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