“It started off as false equivalence. But it’s turned into something much darker, as Republican politicians suggest that attempts to enforce any kind of accountability for or reckoning with the events that led to Jan. 6 are threats to their political freedom. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said on Jan. 22 that he was ‘concerned’ that the ’74 million Americans who voted for President Trump’ would be ‘labeled as insurgents,’ as a Fox News chyron reading ‘Domestic Terror Proposal Raises Fear Of Overreach’ blared beneath him.”

“‘I think what we’re witnessing is the cancel culture purge being kicked into overdrive here,’ Johnson said. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), who played his own well-known role in challenging legitimate election results, fanning the flames on Jan. 6, has flirted with a similar idea. ‘Joe Biden and the Democrats talk about unity but are brazenly trying to silence dissent,’ said Hawley (R-MO) in a statement on Jan. 21. ‘Democrats appear intent on weaponizing every tool at their disposal – including pushing an unconstitutional impeachment process – to further divide the country.’ Hawley later blocked the nomination of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, accusing him of being weak on immigration, but prompting consternation from specialists in far-right extremism. Others have responded to proposed DHS programs to help people walk away from being radicalized by arguing that those initiatives constitute examples of tyrannical government overreach. One proposal in particular would see the government fund ‘deprogramming’ initiatives, efforts to convince people that extremist belief systems like QAnon, which envisions mass executions of supposedly baby-eating Democrats, are incorrect. ‘Deprogram these people? Into what, conservatives want to know? Little totalitarians? Little socialists?’ wrote Tony Perkins of the influential evangelical Family Research Council” – Talking Points Memo.