It is now four days since the Capitol of my country was overrun by a violent mob obsessed with overturning a lawful and fair presidential election. It was a coup attempt incited and supported by the madman who is still president, for ten more days, of the most influential and powerful nation in the world.
I am stunned, outraged and embarrassed for my country.
As a former journalist, I was closely following the events in Washington, DC this past Wednesday. As an American citizen who participated, with over 400,000 other peaceful protestors in the January 2017 Women's March on Washington, DC, following Trump's stunning election, I understood the disappointment of Trump supporters and their legal right to protest an election that didn't turn out the way they hoped.
But I watched in horror as protestors morphed into a violent mob and stormed the U.S. Capitol, amidst chants of "Hang Pence!" and "Find That Bitch Pelosi!"
The Confederate flag, a shameful, American symbol of racial hate and treason, never made it to the U.S. Capitol -- not even during the Civil War -- until January 6, 2021. This image turned my stomach.
And then I saw another sight I never thought I'd see: Secret Service agents, with guns drawn, barricading the doors of Congress from a dangerous mob.
By now, any of you who are interested have seen more than enough video and photos from the siege, during which the vice president of the United States and all Members of Congress were in danger of bodily harm and five people died.
If you are an American citizen and are still supporting and making excuses -- as seven U.S. Senators and 138 U.S. Representatives did -- for the most dangerous, incompetent and evil president in the history of the United States, I have no words for you, nor any interest in hearing yours.
If you are a friend from another country, looking for insight on how the unthinkable happened, I urge you to listen to these two podcast episodes of THE DAILY, produced by the journalists of the New York Times. How They Stormed Congress & An Assault on the Capitol. As you will learn from the podcast reporting, this was not a surprise or a random event. It was openly planned, for weeks, on social media, with the president urging his supporters to gather in Washington, DC on January 6th, telling them, "It will be WILD!"
For those who believe that all will be back to normal as soon as President-elect Joe Biden and vice-president elect Kamala Harris are sworn into office at noon on January 20th, I say, "Oh no, it will not!"
America is at a dangerous moment of crisis. An incompetent, cruel and deranged man who was never fit to serve as president of the Unites States has pushed the guard rails of American democracy to the breaking point and severely damaged our reputation and relationships throughout the world.
The thousands of little lies (over 20,000 documented by the Washington Post) and the BIG LIE -- that he won the election in a landslide -- have nurtured and now ignited anger, hate and insurrection that will not magically fade away when Trump loses his presidential bully pulpit. The lies will outlast our Liar-in-Chief.
The FBI has begun identifying and arresting some of the most visible members of the mob. But the leaders -- beginning with President Donald Trump -- must be held accountable.
I agree with journalist Carl Bernstein who said, "Trump needs to be put in a Constitutional straight-jacket for the final days of his presidency," in order to protect Americans and the world from more madness an unhinged man could unleash. I also support the growing push to impeach this president for an UNPRECEDENTED second time, in order to prevent what we naively thought was unimaginable from ever happening again. 
Twitter has finally permanently banned Trump, which should have been done long ago.
I have no idea what the next few days will bring, but nothing will surprise me, including more violence, which is already being planned with a call for a "Million Militia March" on Washington, DC on Sunday, January 17th.
For those who believe what happened on Wednesday "is not America," it breaks my heart to acknowledge that, unfortunately, what the world witnessed -- white supremacy gone wild -- has always been part of America. The question now is, What are we going to do about it?
