Definitions are quite slippery among this population of self proclaimed “freedom” fighters. A common thread on the internet is whether the January 6th march on the capitol was an “insurrection.” Oxford Languages defines an insurrection as “A violent uprising against an authority or government.” 18 U.S. Code § 2383 does not add much more, given that it uses the in word in defining who should be punished as, “Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto.” Defenders of Trump point to the former President’s speech immediately prior to January 6th where he used the word “peacefully,” and a recent memo from congress that indicates that Trump requested the National Guard be deployed to the capitol. They neglect to include that Trump hay have been asking for the Guard to aid his rebellion to overturn the vote.
The argument that Trump somehow mitigated his charged rhetoric and therefore absolved himself of the crime of incitement is curious. Trump did say:
And yet, some argue that this is all not a call to overthrow the government because he said "I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard." Perplexing, to say the least.
Trump’s incitement aside, thousands of people stormed the Capital on January 6th, pipe bombs were found at both the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee headquarters, and Molotov cocktails were discovered in a vehicle near the Capitol. The motive was clear: the marchers sought to overturn the election and restore Trump as president. His myriad of claims that the election was stolen apparently were neither sparks nor kerosene to the insurrection denialists.
To the reasonable person, the result was unequivocally a violent uprising to overthrow the Biden government. There was a rebellion on foot to overthrow the incoming government against the laws of the nation to transfer power. 1,424 people have been charged with federal crimes relating to the event, 820 have pleaded guilty (255 to felonies and 565 to misdemeanors), and 884 defendants have been sentenced, 541 of whom received a jail sentence. It was an insurrection. Justice, for all but Trump, has been served. It appears that the attempt to overthrow the government must succeed in order for some to believe that it occurred at all.
It is convenient to think that by killing the head of the snake with fire and fury, the gophers will leave the garden alone. Recent history in the Middle East has shown that scenario to not only be false, but instead, the gophers reemerge more emboldened and there are holes everywhere in the garden.
Trump supporters are pointing the finger at Biden, but he's not to blame for inflation.
