Friday marked the two-year anniversary of the January 6 riot over the 2020
presidential results. If you were to ask the Democrats, the supposed threat
to our democracy led by Ultra MAGA Republicans is still ongoing.
That kind of rhetoric is blatantly untrue and deployed to smear millions of
people who dare go against the Democratic agenda.
Still, there is at least one overlooked continuous threat to American
democracy stemming from that day one that never seems to capture the
attention of Legacy Media nor the representatives most outspoken about the
Capitol riot.
Over the past 24 months, dozens if not hundreds of Americans have been
mistreated by the U.S. judicial legal system, according to attorneys and
concerned citizens. This alleged abuse ranges from cruel and unusual
punishment via unnecessary solitary confinement measures, other concerns
over conditions in various jails, and worries over lack of due process.
Since January 6, 2021, more than 950 Americans have been arrested over
actions ranging from parading through the Capitol to more serious charges
relating to assault and other forms of violence. Thanks to the recently
passed omnibus bill, the Department of Justice has the funds to continue the
investigation for the foreseeable future.
That means that inappropriate treatment of fellow Americans will likely
increase as more are wrangled in by authorities.
To be clear, those who abandoned the idea of peaceful protest that day should
be condemned entirely and rightly have been from people across the political
spectrum. Based on mountains of video evidence, it is obvious some went to
the Capitol on January 6 intent on causing mayhem with ill regard for their
fellow citizens. Regardless, justice must be served through the legal system.
Still, according to testimony and footage, others charged with crimes wrongly
believed they were welcomed into the building.
In the case of a man named Matthew Martin, for example, U.S. District Judge
Trevor McFadden acquitted him of four charges after the judge concluded that
Martin felt he was allowed in because U.S. Capitol police let him into the
building.
During the trial, which Martin agreed to hold without a jury, McFadden
concluded that the New Mexico mans defense was largely credible and it
wasnt unreasonable for him to believe that police officers let him and
dozens more into the Rotunda as they stood by. McFadden added that his
actions that day were about as minimal and non-serious as they got.
So far, Martin has been the only person acquitted.
How is it that nearly 1,000 individuals have been charged yet only one man
has been found innocent?
Then theres the so-called face of the insurrection the so-called QAnon
shaman, Jacob Chansley.
Chansley was not accused of attacking anyone that day, according to CNN. Yet
for some reason, the U.S. government held him in jail pre-trial because of
potential future violence.
For more than 300 days, Chansley languished in solitary confinement,
according to reporter Julie Kelly.
He is a man with mental health vulnerability who has, for eight months, been
in what any doctor is the worst thing you can possibly have done to you if
you have a personality disorder, which is be placed in solitary confinement,
his defense attorney Al Watkins argued at one point during his trial.
Chansley was ultimately sentenced to 41 months in prison for his role on
January 6.
According to Kelly, who has investigated January 6 thoroughly, hundreds of
Americans are still being held in jail.
The feds rationale is that, according to Kelly in one column, the events of
January 6 were uniquely horrific and anyone who participated poses a threat
to the country.
Yet it should be noted that more than 200 individuals who allegedly caused
similar mayhem during former President Donald J. Trumps day in 2017 had a
very different experience with the U.S. government. They had their charges
dropped entirely.
What did that day look like? Heres a brief recap:
Footage from DC on the day of Trump's inauguration.
This happened all around the country. For four years.
Remember this when Joe Biden calls MAGA supporters terrorists
tonight. pic.twitter.com/66CME7Lf4R
Maze (@mazemoore) September 1, 2022
For those who think that only Right-leaning pundits are concerned about the
rights of these men and women in jail, readers should remember that in April
2021, even Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke out
against the treatment of some of those arrested.
Solitary confinement is a form of punishment that is cruel and
psychologically damaging, Warren said at the time. And were talking about
people who havent been convicted of anything yet.
If those statements helped change things, it isnt very clear to what extent.
For example, a January 6 arrestee named Edward Jacob Lang was taken by
authorities to a D.C. jail on January 16, 2021.
In January 2022, Lang told The Daily Wire that he had spent 200 days in
solitary confinement, with 23 hours a day alone in a cell.
After that interview, Lang was transferred to a jail in Alexandria, Virginia,
where he faced similar treatment.
In June 2022, Lang told The Washington Times that he had spent 70 days in
solitary confinement for 23 hours per day in an Alexandria, Virginia jail.
I have been informed by Chief [Deputy Sherriff Shelbert] Williams that
because of my political affiliations, I have to remain in solitary
confinement, Lang alleged in one letter to the DOJ.
It should be noted that Lang has been accused of some of the worst violence
from January.
Yet just because he may be accused of egregious behavior does not mean he
shouldnt be afforded his rights.
Neither should any of the other 949 and counting January 6 suspects.
Wheres the outrage from our elected leaders?
--
Let's go Brandon!
