By John Johnson
America, if it had been able to see into the future, countless crimes, such as those committed by Ma Barker, Benedict Arnold, and yes, the infamous Charles Manson, probably could’ve been prevented. Everyone should remember Charles Manson. He’s the guy with a criminal past that wanted to succeed as musician but failed. Regrettable, he succeeded at attracting followers, especially vulnerable young women, who sought someone capable of reflecting their inner self. Manson used this manipulative skill to create the infamous cult called the “Manson Family.”
The Manson Family is credited with killing nine people, which included Sharon Tate, the famous actress and wife of Director, Roman Polanski. Manson and all his cult followers were sentenced to death, except Linda Kasabian. However, because capital punishment was ruled unconstitutional in California, all the death sentences were later commuted to life imprisonment.
This dreadful story was reviewed to reveal how former president Trump’s “Helter-Skelter,” administration parallels, in some ways, Charles Manson’s manipulation of his cult of followers.
Trump wanted desperately to have won the 2021, presidential election. But rather than accepting defeat, he created a conspiracy of voter fraud and instilled a belief that his election had been stolen; therefore, he was still president.
Trump’s cult like followers became angrier with every lie that he broadcast to them almost daily. Consequently, some followers began to contemplate violence to maintain Trump’s presidency.
Trump’s cult like followers, at his invitation, on January 6, 2021, arrived in Washington D.C., to have their disillusion of voter fraud raised to destructive levels. Trump and his family of conspiratorial speakers didn’t disappoint this crowd. They were filled with hate, vengeance and told to march down to the Capitol Building to fight and to be strong. Now, this crowd resembled an angry mob.
Once the mob arrived at the parameter of the Capitol Building and broke through, a full fledge insurrection occurred, which hadn’t occurred since 1812. Trump’s incitement of this insurrection resulted in five deaths, desecration of the Capitol, and well over a hundred seriously injured Capitol and local Police Officers.
However, there is a stark difference between how the Criminal Justice System treated Charles Manson and his cult, the “Manson Family,” and how Trump was treated by the Senate.
On the other hand, Trump was impeached again by the House of Representatives for having “Incited an Insurrection. He was tried by the Senate as he vacationed at his Mar-a-Lago Resort. Despite the House Prosecutorial Teams’ overwhelming evidence linking him to the charge, he was acquitted a second time.
The required 2/3 majority vote of the Senators present to Convict and remove Trump from office failed by just 17 votes. Sadly, 43 Republican Senators thought a president who incited an insurrection while in office should be able to escape punishment because his termed ended before the trial. McConnell labeled the acquittal due to a Constitutional glitch.
Charles Manson probably wished he could’ve been able to maneuver to have his jury stacked with jurors having similar integrity as the 43 Republicans Senators who voted to acquit Trump. Who knows, the “Manson Family,” may have never spent a day in jail. Thankfully, such a travesty of justice didn’t occur.
Unfortunately, Trump’s acquittal is a gross miscarriage of justice. And, already, Senators such as Graham and McCarty have planned to visit Mar-a-Lago to possibly pledge their continued membership in the cult. CPAC focuses cameras on Trump by selecting him to give his first post-presidency keynote speech.
Trump once proclaimed to reporters that, “I am the chosen one.” What he really should now proclaimed is, “I am a cleverer reincarnation of Charles Manson, with a much larger cult of followers.” I wonder why he hasn’t bragged about the number of insurrectionists who invaded the Capitol Building. Remember, the size of crowds is always important to him.
We must now ask, “Is America really better than Trump?”
