What should the average citizen’s response be to all of this?

I have had more than one person tell me that they are going to take to the streets if there is tinkering with the election on January 6, as though they are going to physically “overpower” Trump supporters and concurrently force the government do their bidding. They are going to counter “groups and individuals ... planning to illegally smuggle firearms to the downtown area of D.C … with the stated intention of setting up an armed encampment on the grass of the National Mall.”

We need to oppose what Trump is doing through legal and political methods, not by battling thugs in the streets. That’s what defines us as Americans.

I have been advocating that people click and sign The Pledge to Safeguard the Election [https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/pledge-to-safeguard-the-election] to prevent things from moving in a dark direction. Civic groups will also need to get behind this effort and put pressure on politicians to abide by the results already certified by the Electoral College. It will take more than just a signature on a petition to be effective – but this petition can be a first step we can coalesce around in order to fight for democracy on the legal and political fronts.