No justice appears likely for criminal who incited the attempted coup d’etat

Saturday, Nov. 6, marked 10 months since the Jan. 6 attempted coup d’etat at the U.S. Capitol disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress in the process of affirming the presidential election results, but prosecutors have failed to level charges against former President Donald Trump or any of his close associates for the role they played to incite the mob of terrorists to commit treason.

Trump was impeached for inciting insurrection but he has not been indicted for that crime.

Trump became the first president to be impeached twice, after the House of Representatives approved a single charge that he incited the mob to storm the US Capitol, but the election loser was acquitted in a partisan vote in the US Senate.

The government continues to investigate losses that resulted from the breach of the Capitol, including damage to the building and grounds, both inside and outside the structure.

According to a May 2021 estimate by the Architect of the Capitol, the attack caused about $1.5 million worth of damage to the building.

Although peaceful protests are legal in the United States and protected by the Constitution, violence and destruction are not.

Rebellion and insurrection apply when participants destroy government property or assault officers of the state. These actions are considered crimes against the United States and its Constitution.

The Office of the Attorney General is the only body that can bring insurrection and rebellion charges, but these charges are extremely rare.

Generally, sedition is conduct or speech that incites individuals to violently rebel against the authority of the government. Insurrection includes the actual acts of violence and rebellion. 

Sedition is a serious felony punishable by fines and up to 20 years in prison and it refers to the act of inciting revolt or violence against a lawful authority with the goal of destroying or overthrowing it.

According to 18 U.S. Code § 2383, it is illegal to incite, assist with, or participate in a rebellion or insurrection against U.S. laws and authority. The punishment for insurrection can include a fine, up to 10 years in federal prison, and ineligibility for public office.

Treason is defined in 18 U.S. Code § 2381: “Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.”

Sedition and insurrection charges are serious because they go to the very heart of U.S. constitutional democracy and the fundamental value of respect for the rule of law that distinguishes the United States from totalitarian regimes.

In response to the January 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol, the Joint Chiefs of Staff wrote a letter denouncing the rioting terrorsits’ behavior and emphasizing that the “rights of freedom of speech and assembly do not give anyone the right to resort to violence, sedition and insurrection.”

The violent threats leading up to January 6, the actions taken at the Capitol, and the continued incitement of attacks on state and federal governments demonstrate a persistent and determined assault on U.S. democracy.

The charges are serious and unprecedented, but so too are the violent actions that took place.

Trump justified his supporters calling to hang Mike Pence at the Capitol riot, calling it “common sense” in an audio clip from an interview that ABC News’ Jonathan Karl conducted with Trump.

In the clip released ahead of a book by Karl, the reporter said: “They were saying ‘hang Mike Pence'” to which Trump responded: “Because it’s common sense, Jon. It’s common sense that you’re supposed to protect.” Trump then repeated his baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to President Joe Biden, was fraudulent.

By lying about the vote results and denying his loss, Trump stirred up anger and resentment that threaten the integrity of all elections in the United States and incited his supporters to violence. His obvious criminal intent was to steal the election.

Prosecutors have responded by charging the insurrectionists like litterbugs and loiterers, instead of the traitors and terrorists that they are, leaving the prime culprit free to sow dissent across the country and repeat his treasonous lies.

“Under the continued leadership of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the attack continues to move forward at an unprecedented speed and scale,” said a statement from federal prosecutors investigating the attempted coup d’etat. “The Department of Justice’s resolve to hold accountable those who committed crimes on Jan. 6 has not, and will not, wane.”

Those bold words have not been matched by actions, since the vast majority of 675 defendants who have been arrested so far face relatively minor charges.

While 600 defendants have been charged with entering or remaining in a restricted federal building or grounds, none are accused of felony murder despite the five directly related deaths.

Only 65 individuals have been charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer, although 140 police officers were assaulted Jan. 6 at the Capitol.

About 40 defendants have been charged with conspiracy, but none of those Proud Boys have significant links to Trump, who after months of promoting the lie that the election had been stolen, whipped the mob into a frenzy with more lies and then told them to assault the Capitol.

At the rally on the Ellipse, Trump used the word “fight” numerous times, as in “fight like hell,” insisted they would never “take back their country with weakness” and, in a clear invitation to violence, told them that when elections are stolen “very different rules apply.”

Early in his speech he told the crowd in passing to be “peaceful” and “patriotic,” but then devoted the next 50 minutes to inflaming them with statements such as, “if you don’t fight like hell you are not going to have a country anymore.”

Trump repeatedly told the mob to go to the Capitol and said he would accompany them, although he didn’t.

When Trump told the crowd to “show strength,” his terroristic supporters shouted “Invade the Capitol building,” “Let’s take the Capitol” and “Take the Capitol now.”

The mob that invaded were following orders illegally issued by the President of the United States but it seems that Attorney General Merrick Garland has emasculated the Department of Justice instead of leading the charge to punish this criminal. Apparently, we are not the only ones who think so.