Opinion & Reviews
Jan. 6: One year after the U.S. Capitol riot there are still no charges of insurrection
Insurrections are organized acts of violence that aim for the overthrow of a political system, and they have happened throughout Central and South America.
January 6, 2022 9:50am
Updated: January 6, 2022 12:08pm
This Jan. 6 marks one year since a group of people, mostly Trump supporters, made an illegal entry into the U.S. Capitol Building on the day a joint session of Congress was set to convene to formally certify Joe Biden as president.
The Left, firmly in control of the Democratic Party has found in the events of Jan. 6, its version of the 1933 Reichstag fire tragedy, which was used to justify escalated police state measures throughout Germany.
First, and most importantly, labeling the J6 incident an “insurrection” is obscene and fraudulent. It abuses language and concepts that have already an established legal definition, which is clearly guided by political objectives. This is because the events of Jan. 6 did not amount to an “insurrection.”
Real insurrections are organized acts of violence that aim for the overthrow of a political system, and they have happened throughout Central and South America.
For instance, in 1964, the Marxist-Leninist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) officially initiated an “insurrection” in the community of Marquetalia to overthrow the Colombian government.
In 1989, terrorist Enrique Gorriarán Merlo was part of an “insurrection” against the nascent Argentinean democracy and attacked the La Tablada military barracks in Argentina.
Cuba’s “Grito de Yara,” was an “insurrection” that marked the initiation of the Ten Years War (1868), is another example of an attempt, in the Cuban cited case, of concluding with colonial rule.
These examples, and many others such as the revolution led by Fidel Castro that successfully overthrew the political system of Cuba to instill a new form of government qualify as insurrections because they contain the required element of premeditated violence exercised in a coordinated fashion, for the purpose of dislodging the existing political order.
There is no evidence any of the demonstrators' acts at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 met that criteria, which would explain why no one has thus far been charged with the crime of “insurrection” or anything that actually implies an attempt to dismantle the nation’s political system.
The actions of the Left and their accomplices to suggest otherwise cannot be rationalized although they can be explained in their virulence for former President Donald J. Trump. But the Left is not just after Trump. The 45th president is simply the messenger, albeit a very successful one in raising civic consciousness, despite his personality flaws. More than 74 million people voted for him for a reason in 2020, 11 million more than in 2016.
It is quite possible Democrats never imagined Trump would fare so well in the election, and as a result, decided the rules of the political game must be changed. The Democrats and the media have treated the J6 event as part of a broader conspiracy carried out by “white supremacists/nationalists,” “transphobic,” “patriarchal” Americans.
Perhaps what is most surprising are other, more violent events that occurred and were not viewed by the same Democrats and media outlets with similar criticism or scrutiny.
During the Spring and Summer of 2020, there were over 637 riots connected with the Marxist Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Antifa movements. This caused up to $2 billion in damages to private and public structures (the largest in U.S. history), injured over 2,000 law enforcement officers, and claimed more than 20 lives. On May 28, 2020, the Minneapolis Police 3rd Precinct was scorched by BLM and Antifa.
Still, many Democrats who have labeled the Jan. 6 incident an “insurrection” openly rationalized the riots carried out by BLM and Antifa. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Vice President Kamala Harris are just a sliver of the public officials who have expressed support for BLM protests or their “cause,” with the vice-president even advocated donating money to assist the looters, arsonists, and rioters who had been arrested while committing crimes.
For subscribers of Critical Race Theory and those on the far left, these criminal acts initiated by BLM were part of a political struggle, and the victimology premise that underlies cultural Marxism always needs an aggressor and threat. Hence, the Jan. 6 breach was concocted into a racist, “domestic terrorism” fable to foster a pattern of policy maneuvers designed to deconstruct America.
BLM militants stormed and occupied the Oklahoma State House of Representatives causing an interruption of official matters for a couple of hours on April 21, 2021. During the Senate confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh, over 300 protesters raged inside one of the U.S. Senate buildings while Capitol Hill lawmakers scrambled during the incursion.
But the violent, illegal, and forceful entry into government buildings where political business is conducted is only an “insurrection” if there is ideological antagonism, according to the Left. Instead of considering the gravity of the aforementioned incidents, they did everything possible to direct the country to focus on Jan. 6 as a way to target Trump to damage his credibility enough so he could not run for president again in 2024.
In actuality, Trump’s exact words on January 6 were, “We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated, lawfully slated. I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
Despite those words being inconsistent with the incitement of violence, Democrats pursued a post-presidency impeachment which failed. The FBI launched an aggressive investigation, but after seven months of thorough FBI probing, the nation’s top law enforcement agency found no evidence to suggest that Trump, his associates, or any “right-wing” group plotted the events that transpired on Jan. 6.
This explains why the charges levied against the alleged assailants, many complaining about questionable conditions in detention facilities, did not contain politically loaded accusations such as insurrection, sedition, or treason. Still, the insistence of Democrats to pursue with the Jan. 6 Commission is consistent with their urgency of criminalizing dissent so their political power is consolidated and uncontested.
Although there were injuries that arose as a result of what became a riot, few people actually died. One Capitol Police officer who did die, did so of a heart attack, outside of the U.S. Capitol Building. Although some people died from unintentional physical injuries, the only actual ‘killing’ was suffered by Ashli Babbitt, the unarmed Air Force veteran shot at point-blank range by a Capitol Police officer. Although this was tragic, it was hardly evidence of an “insurrection.”
John Catanzara of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police perhaps said it best. “There was no arson, there was no burning of anything, there was no looting, there was very little destruction of property.”
Ultimately, the Jan. 6 incident served the Left well. The media played right into their narrative, miscast all Republicans as dangerous racists with a propensity for violence and treason. Their decision to continue pushing this narrative suggests they hope to use the Jan. 6 events as a political weapon in the upcoming 2022 mid-term and 2024 presidential elections.
Ironically, this is the real hijacking of America’s political system—the manipulation of the truth and mischaracterization of the law for political purposes. Fortunately, the American people are keen. They are often able to sense dishonesty when they see it. For the sake of the nation’s future and its historical record, it would serve them well to ensure that Jan. 6 is remembered accurately and honestly instead of being exploited to create political advantage.