The Capitol Riot- the bad, the ugly, and what wasn't reported about January 6th

Digging into the insurrection and dangers to democracy

After the Capitol Riot on January 6th 2021 the country was largely united that violence should not be tolerated in our Capitol building and Trump’s words that morning contributed to a dangerous situation. After several hours of rioting the rule of law prevailed, and later that evening the election was certified. A peaceful transfer of power occurred two weeks later and our robust system of government worked despite the unfortunate challenge.

Many Republicans rightly wanted to censure Trump for his irresponsible words the morning of Jan 6th to send a message about the importance of civility, law, and order. But Democrats wanted impeachment so they set up a committee that indeed led to the impeachment of Trump a week before he left office. The subsequent trial in the Senate presented evidence making Jan 6th look like an organized insurrection incited by Trump despite his Tweets to respect law enforcement and be peaceful. There was no defense in what some called an inquisition although outside of the House it was revealed that the video clip of Trump's speech was edited to leave out his word "peaceful" when he asked his supporters to go to the Capitol and protest the election many believed was fraudulent on many levels.

On second thought-

Trump's proactive request for the DC Mayor or Nancy Pelosi to request National Guard presence to prevent violence due to the large crowd expected (some known to be agitators) was ignored and not presented at the trial. In subsequent days more evidence was presented by conservatives that raised questions about the degree of Trump's complicity in the violence and whether it was really an insurrection.

Then we were reminded that Trump was hardly the first candidate to claim an election was invalid (e.g., Hillary Clinton and others claimed Trump was an illegitimate president after the 2016 election, and Stacey Abrams never conceded she lost the Georgia gubernatorial election).

Post election violence (and other violence)

And like claims of illegitimacy we were reminded of the violence that occurred in many cities after Trump's inauguration in 2017. I wonder why the only media to report on this is right-leaning? (I don’t know why the time marker in youtube isn’t preserved in Substack; please slide the time bar to 3:15 to see the violence).

We also compared the one-day Capitol Riot in 2021 to the previous summer's BLM protests across the country that lasted days and weeks or longer where many democrats also encouraged peaceful protesters. Some of those protesters became violent and Kamala Harris actually offered to pay bail for rioters who were arrested.

Here's what Tim Walz let happen for days in Minneapolis after George Floyd’s murder instead of protecting the citizens who lived and worked in those urban neighborhoods. Should we elect someone who'll let that happen while also de-funding police (and paying for tampons in boys bathrooms)?

Motivations for peaceful protests-

The motives for folks who protested George Floyd's murder the previous year were good, and it wouldn't be fair to blame those peacefully protesting for the rioting conducted by some of them. Likewise the large crowd that gathered on Jan 6th to protest what they saw as a deeply flawed election for a number of reasons were justified in peacefully voicing their opinions too. Let’s show the same ability to distinguish unlawful rioting from peaceful protesting in both cases. Let’s be consistent with the peaceful occupation of the Wisconsin State Capitol 10 years earlier that was encouraged by Democrats as we separate peaceful from violent protesters. This list was prepared after the election but before Jan 6th to help motivate peaceful protesters to advocate for a constitutional remedy to what happened.

Those who rioted on Jan 6th were wrong and deserved to face justice as they have. To the casual observer though, the difference in the way Jan 6 rioters (and some innocent protesters) were arrested and prosecuted compared to the lax treatment of BLM rioters was stark. Many who entered the Capitol were not violent and merely followed a crowd that in some cases was even guided by law enforcement through the building. Most were seeking a CONSTITUTIONAL REMEDY similar to this one to a deeply flawed election, not a coup.

If it was really an insurrection, what was the plan to take over our government? The evidence shows no coordinated plan, rather several groups that looked more like pretenders dressed in Halloween costumes than insurrectionists, even though some were dangerous and their violence deserved prosecution.

Given the way early warning signs of disaster on Jan 6th were ignored, coupled with instances of left-leaning instigators (e.g., Ray Epps) who encouraged demonstrators to enter the Capitol yet only received a slap on the wrist, and the mysterious pipe bombs that the person who planted them couldn’t be found (after an investigation reminiscent of the FBI investigation into Hunter’s laptop), many Americans became suspicious that political opponents of Trump facilitated the riot (let it happen) to be able to use it against their political enemy.

The way Jan 6th was blown up EVEN LARGER than it was wound up inspiring The Babylon Bee to put out "The Most Deadliest Day" which is free to view.

Fascist dictator and absurd claims 2024 will be the our last election

January 6th continues to be used as evidence that Trump wants to be a fascist dictator as the 2024 presidential campaign continues. Democrat politicians (and the activist media) claiming to want unity have been persistently drumming up fear by misquoting Trump’s half-joking quip about “wanting to be a dictator starting on day one” they claim. Trump’s sarcastic though also serious comment alluding to the executive orders coming out of the Biden/Harris White House was that he’d only be a dictator on Day One when he’d “close the border” and “drill baby drill” for energy. After that he wouldn’t. Here are his actual words.

Are our views of January 6th a Rorschach Ink Blot test?

Regarding the root cause of Jan 6th, one way to evaluate confirmation bias is to examine scenarios where the shoe is on the other foot, and I often ask friends how they would react if this plays out in 2028. Would they accept such a flawed election or would they seek remedies? Peaceful and constitutional remedies.

In summary, the Capitol Riot on Jan 6th was an ugly stain on our nation’s history. Incendiary political rhetoric, in this case from Trump, can and did help inspire violence. The riot and Trump’s irresponsible words that morning were immediately denounced by nearly all Americans, republicans and democrats alike. However, looking at the demonstration and the riot more holistically in comparison to other politicians who’ve denounced unfair elections and incited angry crowds, views on Jan 6th have changed for many. The divisiveness that’s so prevalent in our country is counterproductive to achieving our collective national goals and the good news is that more folks are asking the question- why can’t we just get along.


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note- this post was taken from this Substack article by the same title



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