The insurrectionist next door: A new source of suburban unease

The neighbor declined to go on TV — that struck him as unwise, given the circumstances — but he later told The Washington Post that Council seemed like a normal guy who waved to him whenever they encountered each other in the neighborhood, and who lived in a “plain-looking” house that, unlike many others on the street in the conservative-leaning area, did not have any signs in support of President Trump out front. Council, according to the Department of Justice, unlawfully entered the Capitol building, and, when stopped by law enforcement, pushed an officer.

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The radicalization of Trump supporters from all walks of life became jarringly apparent this month when a phalanx of lawyers, nurses, police officers, real estate agents and stay-at-home parents found common cause — terrorizing lawmakers for not overturning the results of a presidential election — with conspiracy mongers and violent white supremacists. Amid the throngs were a university professor, a hairdresser, a school therapist, a CEO, a piano teacher, an Olympic gold-medalist swimmer and a state representative from West Virginia. A Frisco, Tex., woman, Jenna Ryan, flew to the rally from Texas on a private plane, and posted a video from the riot where she hawked her professional services: “Y’all know who to hire for your realtor,” she said. “Jenna Ryan for your realtor.” (She has been arrested.)

Back in the quiet, well-to-do neighborhoods of America, the constitution of the mob raised unnerving questions. Do I know any of these people? And: Is anyone I know capable of this?

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