Before the Spiral Turns Bloody

Trump and his followers thrive on chaos. Our only defense is peaceful disruption, not polite resignation.

In 2022, Coos County, Oregon decided to audition for its own dark little corner in the January 6 archives. Voters narrowly elevated Rod Taylor, an insurrectionist whose cameo at the Capitol is immortalized in photos of him waving a “Fight Like Flynn” banner at the east entrance, to the county commission. Upon squeaking through the election, Taylor crowed about bringing a “new ideology” to what had long been a nonpartisan board. By “ideology” he meant the full MAGA starter pack: a sidearm permanently affixed to his hip, an unwavering devotion to election conspiracy grifters like Douglas Frank, a news diet of Epoch Times and InfoWars, and a reflexive “I’m a Christian” whenever someone dares fact-check him.

The sidearm, in particular, became his signature flourish. He admitted he hadn’t always carried one, but once in office he made a performance of never being seen without it, even at board meetings. And here’s the thing: guns in public meetings don’t protect anyone. Outside of trained law enforcement, almost no one is prepared for close-quarter combat with a loaded weapon. Which is exactly why it was so alarming when police were called on Taylor himself at a peaceful, family-friendly demonstration. Witnesses recall him cursing at them loudly, and when a father approached to ask him to tone it down because children were present, Taylor didn’t holster humility; he unsnapped his pistol. “Menacing,” the police called it. Performance had crossed into threat.

Like Trump, his spiritual role model, Taylor didn’t have the faintest clue what the job actually required, and also like Trump, he managed the rare feat of losing his own home precinct while winning the bigger prize.