This morning, ‘Elizabeth Knoxville’ trended on Twitter as the world reacted to the horrific coup in the US last night that saw a mob of Trump rioters storm the US Capitol Building in the name of ‘revolution’ and ‘civil war’.
Why was Elizabeth Knoxville trending? Well, because she was one of the Trump rioters that attacked the US Senate by entering the building, filmed soon after by journalists covering the story. ‘I got maced,’ she says to the camera, patting her face with a towel in severe distress. ‘I made it like a foot inside and they pushed me out and they maced me.’
When asked for her name and why she wanted to go into the building, she shouts, ‘My name is Elizabeth, I’m from Knoxville, Tennessee. We’re storming the Capitol, it’s a revolution.’
The clip has been shared far and wide on social media, with many a meme made about Elizabeth’s victimhood attitude.
But actually, while the memes might add some joy to what is an otherwise haunting day for the US, watching the video for yourself, it’s anything but funny. The sheer delusion of this woman, so bold in her conviction that this was necessary, so confused and upset that police stopped her from attacking the US democracy (we say that in the lightest of ways), is terrifying.
More than that, the fact she is so ignorant of her privilege to get away from literally breaking into a US federal building with some light making from police is astounding. She stands there, admitting her name and where she’s from, with no expectation that she’ll face further punishment for committing a crime.
Just a few months ago, peaceful protesters were attacked, maimed and some killed purely for standing up to the insidious racism that infects the US. Watching this video, it serves as nothing but a terrifying reminder that there are so many people, so devoid of reality, that they think this sort of behaviour is acceptable, encouraged even.
And of course, that’s because it is. By the steadily-growing fascism in the US, by a president that incites violence, by police that only act with force when someone’s protesting white supremacy. The police reaction to last night’s events were nothing short of abysmal – in fact, many on Twitter are stating they let the rioters into the building. When you compare it to the reaction to the Black Lives Matter protests, it quite blatantly told the rest of the world, you’ll only be pushed back upon by police as long as you’re for fighting for Black lives.
Click through for anti-racism charities you can support in the US and UK...
Charities To Support - Grazia
1 of 23Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust
Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust works with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds aged 13 to 30 to inspire and enable them to succeed in the career of their choice
2 of 23Peace and Healing for Darnella Fund
Darnella Frazier, the brave young woman who filmed the murder of George Floyd, deserves peace and healing. In addition to the trauma of watching a black man be murdered by police, she has had to deal with trolls, bullies and ignorant people harassing her online. This fund is to support the healing and the restoration of hope for Darnella Frazier —whatever that means to her.
3 of 23Justice for Jacob Blake Fund
Set up by Blake's mother, this fund will cover his medical expenses, mental and grief counseling for his family and to assist them in the days to come, as they continue to seek justice for Jacob. A portion of these proceeds will also be used to benefit his six children.
4 of 23Milwaukee Freedom Fund
MFF was started by Black and Brown Milwaukee organizers to support residents' right to protest for justice. Donations help support their work helping protesters and community mutual aid and start a locally controlled and operated Milwaukee Bail Out Fund that is part of the National Bail Out Network. Through this work they will build on ongoing bail abolition efforts, support immigration efforts, work towards Black and Brown Liberation and support Black and Brown young people as they build a new world.
5 of 23George Floyd Memorial Fund
This fund covers his funeral and burial expenses, mental and grief counseling for the family, lodging and travel for all court proceedings and to assist the family in the days to come as they continue to seek justice for George. A portion of these funds will also go to the Estate of George Floyd for the benefit and care of his children and their educational fund.
6 of 23Minnesota Freedom Fund
The MFF is working with the US National Lawyers Guild and Legal Rights Center to help bails that are set for protestors.
7 of 23Prison Reform Trust
Prison Reform Trust works to make the prison system in the UK just, humane and effective.
8 of 23Joint Council For The Welfare Of Immigrants
The JCWI aims to create a world in which immigration law and policy are based on sound evidence, promote the rule of law and are underpinned by respect for human rights and human dignity
9 of 23Access UK
Helps reduce BME youth unemployment, provide employment and training solutions for youth offenders and implement anti-gang initiatives in the community.
10 of 23Charity So White
Tackles institutional racism in the charity sector.
11 of 23Black Thrive
Black Thrive works to reduce the inequality and injustices experienced by Black people in mental health services.
12 of 23The Ubele Initiative
Supports the African diaspora community.
13 of 23Women In Prison
Supports women affected by the criminal justice system and campaigns to end the harm of prison to women, their families and our communities.
14 of 23Race On The Agenda (ROTA)
Race On The Agenda (ROTA) is a social policy research organisation focusing on issues that impact BAME communities.
15 of 23Show Racism The Red Card
Provides educational workshops, training sessions, multimedia packages, and a whole host of other resources, all with the purpose of tackling racism in society.
16 of 23The Equality Trust
Works to improve the quality of life in the UK by reducing economic and social inequality.
17 of 23Stop Hate UK
A service for victims of racial harassment aiming to end hate crimes in the UK.
18 of 23Runnymede
Generates intelligence to challenge race inequality in Britain through research, network building, leading debate, and policy engagement.
19 of 23National Bail Out
This US charity is a Black-led and Black-centered collective of abolitionist organizers, lawyers and activists building a community-based movement to support our folks and end systems of pretrial detention and ultimately mass incarceration.
20 of 23Black Lives Matter
This US organisation (for which there is a UK movement here) fights to end state-sanctioned violence, liberate Black people, and end white supremacy forever.
21 of 23BEAM
BEAM is a US training, movement building and grant making organization dedicated to the healing, wellness and liberation of Black and marginalized communities.
22 of 23Ahmaud Arbery Memorial Fund
Ahmaud Arbery was chased and gunned down by Travis McMichael, son of retired Brunswick investigator Greg McMichael, under the father's and son's pretenses of witnessing a burglary in Satilla Shores of Glynn County. There is no evidence of the alleged burglary.
23 of 23Belly Mujinga Memorial Fund
For the memorial of Belly Mujinga, the railway worker who was spat at before she died of Covid-19.