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ONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Liberals are outraged that some January 6th defendants may get payouts from a new anti-government weaponization fund. It’s been stocked with $1.8-billion.
We can debate the merits of such a fund some other time. Today’s issue is whether those who were swept up in the riot at the U.S. Capitol might be able to make claims.
I think for some of the January 6th defendants, the answer is ‘no’. But for others, it may be ‘yes’. It really is a case-by-case basis.
Should the January 6th shaman collect? No. He breached the U.S. Senate chamber and disrupted legitimate government business. Others chanted for the lynching of Vice President Mike Pence for certifying the Electoral College tally. No, they are criminals. Still others broke into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. No, obviously.
But what about others who were part of the peaceful protest outside the Capitol building. Some entered through doors that were literally being held open by capitol police. Others went inside unaware that a riot was taking place on the senate floor. Many left the building when ordered to. There are some who literally went inside to use the bathroom.
Many of those January 6th participants were identified months later through security camera footage or illegally obtained credit card receipts or hotel records showing that they were in Washington DC on January 6th. Some turned themselves in at federal courthouses in their own states.
Were they treated fairly? In many cases, no. The Biden Justice Department had all of those cases transferred to Washington DC, where the federal courts are benched by mostly liberal judges. All were denied bail and held in Washington DC, where they were far away from their families and their lawyers. Most pled guilty to misdemeanor charges like being part of an unlawful assembly or parading on government grounds. All were sentenced to jail time.
These were not treated like normal prosecutions. These people were treated as if they were a ground-zero threat to democracy. And many of them were not.
There were more than 1,300 such prosecutions on charges that in other situations would have drawn probation, or deferred sentences, or would have been plea bargained away. I’m glad these people were pardoned. And I’m fine with allowing them to make the case that they were treated differently by a weaponized, law-fared government.
Chris Conley
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