By Timothy Snyder

It is uncanny to watch two proud North American capitals stormed by their own citizens in the space of about a year.  Just last January, no government authority was able to protect the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.  Now, just a bit more than a year later, something very similar is unfolding in Ottawa.

On January 28th, truckers began a siege the Canadian capital.  Since then, some of the echoes with January 6th 2021 have been eery, right down to the the Confederate flags.  The January 6th protestors were of trying to overturn an election.  The people who planned the “Freedom Convoy” Canadian truckers proposed “Memorandum of Understanding” demanding regime change (which has now been abandoned).  On January 29th, the prime minister was led away to an undisclosed location.  The sergeant of arms of the House of Commons warned Canadian parliamentarians to avoid the truckers, and to avoid being seen, lest they be followed to their houses and attacked there.  Amidst the tumult, some representatives of the more right-wing of the major parties expressed their support.  More echoes there.  And as in Washington DC last year, the locals in Ottawa are generally aghast.

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