Irish Examiner view: Trump’s election lies fuel anarchy 

Members of the Proud Boys and Antifa stand off near Black Lives Matter Plaza on Saturday (December 12) in Washington, DC. Thousands of protesters who refuse to accept that President-elect Joe Biden won the election are rallying ahead of the electoral college vote to make Trump's 306-to-232 loss official. Picture: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

It might be easy, it certainly would be reassuring, to dismiss Saturday night's violence in Washington as an exceptional moment but that hope begins to look untenable. 

Far-right groups clashed with counter-protesters after a march by conservatives protesting against president-elect Joe Biden’s election victory. That those protestors, including uber-right Proud Boys, were encouraged by a presidential flyover is disconcerting.