Why does no one bring up the scaffold?

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

We have been told ad nauseum about the flag poles, pepper spray, weapons, military tactics, etc. But no one mentions what it would take to build a tall scaffold. Who carried the wood in? Who assembled it? Who made the noose?

I have never seen a scaffolding at any other protest.

[hlthe2b]

1. There were photos (I think on twitter, but resposted here) of recent identification of a group bringing the

materials to the park in the wee hours of the morning. It was then constructed during the daylight hours, but seemingly while all were distracted with Trump's rally. I didn't bookmark it but maybe someone can find it.

[PunkinPi]

13. Found this...

The gallows erected in front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 remains an enduring mystery of that day.

Now, footage obtained by CBS News shows how the pieces were brazenly carried through iconic streets of Washington, hours before the riot broke out.

@MacFarlaneNews reports:

Link to tweet

[hlthe2b]

14. Yes. That is it. I forgot it was a CBS piece.

[Beartracks]

21. Wow, so they, uh, planned their spontaneous tourist visit in advance. n/t

[bucolic_frolic]

2. Or the bomber. Maybe they're related? /nt

[PatSeg]

19. We haven't heard anything about the bomber

for a long time. I wonder if they have had any leads.

[PlutosHeart]

29. MTG did taunt the FBI about that and also

screeched that "they know who it is". Hmmmmmmmmm.

[PatSeg]

31. Ha, ha!

They may know something we don't, but I'm quite sure Marge knows nothing. She'll screech about anything as long as it gets her some media attention.

[Emile]

3. Wasn't the scaffolding there for the upcoming inauguration?

[PunkinPi]

12. I think the OP is referring to the gallows. nt

[Tommy Carcetti]

4. From what I understand, it was a prop.

A terrible, terrible prop meant to intimidate, but I don’t think it could have serviced as a functional gallows.

[Blues Heron]

5. Anything can serve as a gallows- those beams were solid enough

It really doesn’t take much when a rabid crowd tastes blood.

[forgotmylogin]

16. They built it ahead of time.

Theater flat-building experience here. It was just a platform and framed supports that could be stowed flat in a pickup truck and then bolted together quickly using wing-nuts by hand, or hinge the frame so it folds flat and then set a flat deck on top. It probably took 15-20 minutes to set up on site. Any haunted-house or theatrical set builder knows how to make a temporary platform that can disassembled for storage or transport and then just bolt a post on to make a gallows.

[soldierant]

17. The rope alone can kill - if you don't mind it being done

by strangulation.

but a truly functional gallows is tall enough, and has enough of a drop, to kill by breaking the neck. Back in the day when gallos were actually being used by governments, that was considered more humane because death is faster.

I know, I know, no MAGAt cares two (fillin the blank with a useless object) about being humane.

[ShazzieB]

27. I have always said that gallows looked too flimsy to hang someone on.

Like you said, it wasn't tall enough, but it also didn't look strong to me enough to support the weight of a full grown adult human. That little skinny rope didn't look up to the job either.

I've always wondered if it was just for show or if the person(s) who built it were too dumb to know it was inadequate. I'm sure I'll never know. Either way, it certainly sent a chilling message.

I am very glad that gallows was never used that day, for multiple reasons. Like you said, hanging was once considered a relatively humane method of execution, but for that to be the case, the gallows had to be engineered just right, and everything had to go perfectly. That didn't always happen, and there are some hair-raising stories out there about hangings gone wrong. I'm sure the Capitol rioters wouldn't have cared about being humane, but I don't think those idiots would have been prepared to deal with the results of a botched hanging.

[Retrograde]

35. The long drop is IIRC a 19th century invention

prior to that, hanging was death by slow strangulation.

I think it was intended to be a show prop, but given how mobs behave I can easily buy that some MAGAts would try to use it on some representatives.

[Wednesdays]

38. You got it. Hanging was not necessarily from a high place.

See this list of historical "Hanging Trees." Few are higher than eight feet off the ground.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hanging_trees

[hydrolastic]

36. I have removed engines from cars with less sturdy structures !

In my younger days...

[Think. Again.]

6. I agree, it wasn't meant to be used....

...but because it was erected earlier that morning (there have been some bits of video released) before the trump speech and before the so-called "spontaneous" assault on our Capital, it does prove prior intent and that the assault was planned and known to be happening by various people.

[Tommy Carcetti]

7. Absolutely.

People already had blood on their mind.

[DENVERPOPS]

26. And incited by

Mr. "Stand back, and Standby"

And what people want to ignore, is that there was more than obvious involvement by some of those within the U.S. Military Command Officers, the D.C. National Guard Command and soldiers, the D.C. Police Command and officers, the Capitol Police Command and officers, and certainly the Secret Service...........

It was a Travesty of Justice that Trump, and all involved, were not immediately tried for Sedition, Insurrection, and Treason......
At a bare minimum it was cause for instantaneous Impeachment of Trump and a lifetime prison sentence in Leavenworth, or more appropriately, Colorado's Super Max.

This was, no question, a COUP, organized, orchestrated and instituted........and they came within a millimeter of pulling it off.....

[SledDriver]

9. This. It was planned

[hydrolastic]

37. 4 x4's and 3/8" bolts totally capable of holding body weight!

That's a guess, They could be 1/2" hard to tell with the carriage bolt heads. It was there in case it was needed. As I said earlier I have removed engines with less.... stuff can support more weight than it looks. Example the deck built on your house has similar construction

[obamanut2012]

10. It was a gallows -- it was sturdy, and very easy to hang someone

It is similar to the "strangle gallows" used by the Nazis in the camps.

[sheshe2]

23. I agree it was a non-functional prop.

However they were sending a message.

[DaBronx]

8. You bring up an important point

It illustrates how absolutely normalized all the crazy shite has become. And what about those pipe bombs? $500k reward out there but not very publicized.

https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/washingtondc/news/500000-reward-remains-in-effect-for-information-about-capitol-hill-pipe-bomber

And very little was said at the time the republicans changed their platform with respect to Ukraine prior to Orange Blofus’s election.
Remember this:

https://www.npr.org/2017/12/04/568310790/2016-rnc-delegate-trump-directed-change-to-party-platform-on-ukraine-support

We are living in crazy times.

[PufPuf23]

11. I made the following post March 30 about the scaffold.

Troubles me that the individuals that set up the gallows on January 6 have never been identified. The gallows meant to kill for VPOTUS Pence?

If this was treated as a "normal" crime, investigators would have taken the gallows into custody and figured out long ago where the materials were obtained and when and by whom.

Problem is that there are many imbedded co-conspirators that believe their ends justify the means, even if the means are a mockery of our social contract.

Kathy Griffen made herself an unappealing and easy target and took an intimidation blow to her career as an example for others.

Trump feel no constraints. Members of Congress wear their guilt proudly and with little apparent worry.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=18822972

[rwild1967]

15. That was already there for the inauguration.

[pazzyanne]

30. Question.

Why would there be a noose set up for the inauguration?

It is a symbol/ threat of violence.

[blogslug]

32. Two definitions of scaffolding are being conflated

1) The scaffolding that was in place for construction for the coming presidential inauguration.

2) The execution-style scaffold assembled by traitorous scum the morning of January 6.

[B.See]

18. the March 18 CBS article fully detailed the construction of the gallows on the morning of the INSURRECTION

as several here have already confirmed. The article was also the topic of a post by BumRushDaShow on the same date. Here again is the link to the original article and some excerpts from the lengthy report:

Newly obtained video shows movement of group suspected of constructing Jan. 6 gallows hours before Capitol siege - CBS News

The people who erected the infamous gallows and noose on the west front of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, began their work in the predawn hours that day

Surveillance footage shared with CBS News shows the brazenness of the work behind the gallows and noose, which have a history of racist and threatening overtones.

The videos illustrate how a crew of people rolled pieces down major streets in plain sight, in the predawn hours before the Capitol siege.

The shifting of the wooden beams is clearly shown in recordings collected by some of the hundreds of surveillance cameras on and near Capitol Hill.

the crossbeam and a bright orange noose were added during the 1 p.m. hour on Jan. 6, as the rioting and the siege of the Capitol began.

Despite the outrage triggered by the display, the probe into who is responsible appears to be unsolved.

The gallows was outfitted with a bright orange-colored rope. The color choice was noteworthy, according to Raymond Winbush, a researcher and professor at Morgan State University in Maryland.

Winbush told CBS News, "African Americans can't view the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and not recall the history of lynched Black people in America.

The gallows were there; so were the ropes and, most chilling, the screaming faces of white men and women yelling for the blood of Mike Pence."

The footage obtained by CBS News also shows the parading of a large Confederate flag near the Capitol grounds in the early morning hours of Jan. 6, close to the time when the other group was transporting the suspected gallows beams.

After the mob confronted, assaulted and pushed beyond the police lines, the gallows was left unattended, according to journalist Michael Persson, who was covering the Capitol attack and discovered the orange noose had been cut down and tossed to the ground.

Persson said he witnessed a young Black man climb the gallows and cut down the noose. He believes the young man was a good Samaritan outraged by the display.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

20. The "noose" looked stupid

A loop of red rope, then some red rope wrapped around a beer can to try to look "noosey".

Any Boy Scout could have done a better job.

They didn't even try to hide the beer can.

It looked like a cheap prop.

[MattBaggins]

41. What does "cheap prop" have to do with anything

Last edited Wed Apr 3, 2024, 06:45 AM - Edit history (1)

If someone at a company, put a poorly made noose on someone's desk, would it be dismissed because it was a "cheap prop"?

[Hekate]

22. Why does no one bring up the fact that both the VP & Speaker were slated to be KILLED at the same time?

“Naaancy. Come oooouuut. Naaaancy.” did everybody who heard that think those murderous thugs were planning to do with her if they found her?

Do you know who was next in line to be president if those two were killed? Grassley! “Don’t worry, Mr Pence, Grassley can certify the votes if you’re not here.”

[barbtries]

24. it's probably here on youtube,

but just within the past couple days i watched a video of the people bringing in the wood in the wee hours of the 6th. I'm sorry i cannot recall where. I think the context was who are these people and why haven't they been apprehended. my memory's really good except when it isn't.

[Picaro]

25. Spot on

Who built the thing? Is there no footage of that?

A crew showed up with the lumber, tools, people that knew how to use those tools etc. Haven’t ever been able to tell if this was a functional gallows or just a faux gallows. The hangman’s noose was legit.

[Celerity]

28. Video shows people suspected of erecting noose, gallows before Jan. 6 attack

[bottomofthehill]

33. It was about 300 plus yards from the Capitol

There were plenty of other things to worry about more than a flimsy gallows over 300 yards from the capitol that was labeled as “art” no one was getting hung on those gallows.

[bottomofthehill]

34. Please look at the pictures on post 4 and 19

It was a prop, designed to send a message, yes, to actually hang people, nope

[hydrolastic]

39. post#4 and #19 don't have photo's, the thing may have on the light side but it was built to kill if needed.

If the chanting crowd "kill Mike Pence" had actually gotten their hands on him it would have been used. Thats why it was there. The sign on it and the weird knot don't convince me that it not a functional gallows. An enthusiastic insurrectionist volunteered to build it from the direction of someone. There was a photo of a guy with Zip ties, useful to carry out the crime. It was coordinated to be there.

[tritsofme]

40. No doubt, that means these people are absolutely demented. It doesn't mean that their speech is not protected

under the First Amendment.

[MattBaggins]

45. Gallows cross the line

of free speech to violent threat

[tritsofme]

47. No it most certainly does not qualify as a "true threat" to anyone, it is odious but protected speech.

[bottomofthehill]

42. Wow, total brain freeze by me.

I must have been crossing threads somehow.

Here are some images. When you look at the ones with the people on them, you will see what I mean. It was a powerful message, but not built to be a working gallows. That said, you can hang yourself in your front hall closet if you don’t weigh too much.
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&sca_esv=2a499fe3eecb2ac0&sca_upv=1&hl=en-us&q=1/6+gallows&uds=AMwkrPsAuZ84d-cS5bgjXYX8PatOdVcDAriaWODIvMUu5axPl3Zzt1X2Sk8yFga_06zxPdBBkLxennUIEokHS5X3xk0d1mX-3m9oBSdsHrW94K65H0WUYUbv1ZjJm1dgClkKjBM804ZGsntV6eP-OJFoj8rE8ZcTmWpDcOXeJa0ZvyWhl-q476nnOFdVpw0071ZNbBtIe1yNvH-4wFai9rQMNZIbgVfPqaYFIFr9YgHYiQFQN3dnysuIRrA8NfTc-qAiAuBrKr_f5F8r8xXaWSAW3YdHsQsRjm88AnEPjtEHEHrxwQbn0Fw&udm=2&prmd=isvnmbtz&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjr2ZCY3qWFAxXbFFkFHX5XBWwQtKgLegQIFBAB&biw=490&bih=824&dpr=2#imgrc=yE4VWordriL46M&imgdii=Q_h1ebcWkw4TmM

[MattBaggins]

43. That burning cross on your yard?

It's just a "prop" and I don't care about it. I have more important things to worry about.

[DFW]

44. This is the only enduring scaffold I can think of

[LuckyCharms]

46. The gallows at the Capitol was indeed strong enough to hang someone.

It may have not been strong enough to hang someone "properly".

However, was it strong enough to hang a human until death via strangulation?

Certainly.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

48. My point was not that the scaffold was there, it is that the Repug argument is

"They were peaceful people taking a quiet walk through the Capitol." The instant Democratic response should be, "Peaceful tourists do not bring the material to build a scaffold. Black Live Matter did not erect a scaffold. The George Floyd protestors did not not erect a scaffold. The protestors for the 1963 March on Washington did not build a scaffold. It doesn't matter when or how the Jan 6 scaffold was built -- the scaffold with the Capitol behind it has become one of the enduring images of the insurrection, and of the insurrectionists rally call, "Hang Mike Pence!"