Letter to the Editor: ‘Stop the Steal’ Are the Indictable Words

It’s time for those accusing our past president of inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol to stop using his phrase “Fight like hell” to prove their point. They are the wrong three words. 

It’s true that he used the word “fight” and variations of it more than 20 times in the speech to his very significant crowd earlier that day, but fighting for something does not require a physical altercation.

There were other words in the speech far more damning, such as, “We will stop the steal,” “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol” and “I’ll be there with you.” 

The imagined steal could not be stopped by lining up in front of the Capitol steps and protesting peacefully. It would require overwhelming the Capitol police, breaking through doors and windows if necessary, entering the Capitol, searching for the room in which Vice President Pence was carrying out his ceremonial pro forma duties, and physically stopping him in the act of counting the Electoral College votes. The timing had been set for that very moment.

And this is precisely what many in the crowd attempted to do. With just a slight alteration of events, the result could have been an enormously greater disaster for the country.

So let’s forget the benign three words “Fight like hell” and use the indictable three words “Stop the steal.”

Rick Ronvik

Sister Bay, Wisconsin