ARGUMENT: 6 January & prosecutorial discretionDrop the Charges Against Minor Capitol Hill Defendants
Rioter who assaulted police or vandalized the Capitol should be prosecuted. But the majority of those who came to the Capitol on 6 January were “gawkers” who just wanted to see the spectacle, or to non-violently express their political opinion, and merely walked through a public office building, The charges against them should be dropped.
The Capitol Hill riot on January 6th was an ugly affair. Thousands of Trump supporters stormed police barricades; dozens got into scuffles with the police; scaled the Capitol walls; and smashed windows to get in the building. Dozens of police officers were injured. And Congress was forced to recess for five hours to clear the building.
Thankfully no one was killed, except for 34-year-old Ashley Babbitt, an Air Force veteran, who was shot and killed by police. The riot was not only ugly, but it was pointless, as Congress could and did reconvene to conduct the Electoral College count.
But equally, it was not the “worst insurrection in the history of America” as touted by so many on the Left. An “assault” by 900 overweight, un-armed, middle-aged, disorganized Trump supporters should never have breached a hardened building surrounded by 40-foot walls, with metal doors and reinforced windows. Many of the rioters were deeply patriotic - if fooled and led astray by Trump. Only the massive incompetence by the Capitol Police - now clearly documented by a US Senate Report - gave the rioters the wide opening to scale and breach the Capitol. Was this really “worse” than the 1932 Bonus Army occupation of Washington (2 dead, 155 injured); or the 1935 Harlem Race Riot (3 dead, 500 injured); or the 1943 LA Zoot Suit Riots (thousands injured); or the 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention Riot (thousands injured and beaten)?
So why are Democrats - particularly the Biden administration - still using the FBI and DOJ to hunt down every person who was there - most to be charged only with “trespassing” and “illegal protesting” charges? And why are the 400 already arrested being treated as war criminals - locked-up for months; beaten in jail; fed rotten food, and denied bail? Even the famous (and mentally disabled) “Shaman” with his horns and painted face - who did not vandalize or assault anyone - has been locked-up for six months and mistreated in jail.
The answer, sadly, is politics. It serves the interests of the Left to demonize and over-prosecute everyone who was there. Most arrestees were mere gawkers. “I just walked through, didn’t touch anything” said one young Huntington arrestee. But he now faces trial, bankruptcy and humiliation. Exactly what Biden, and his Attorney General Merrick Garland, want. Hypocrites like Garland cannot even claim to be “tough” on rioters, since he dropped all charges last month against dozens of Antifa rioters from Portland - who burned out police stations and killed 25 people.
If a Capitol Hill rioter assaulted police or vandalized the Capitol, then by all means prosecute him. But for the vast majority of “gawkers” who just wanted to see the spectacle, or to non-violently express their political opinion - and merely walked through a public office building - drop the charges.
This Editorial is published courtesy of the North Shore Leader.
