The dictionary definition of an “insurrection” is as follows: “armed resistance to authority; a limited rebellion.” The authority in this instance is the Federal government. But what took place last January 6th despite what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her ilk think, does not meet the criteria of an insurrection.
The media narrative of what happened last January 6 is that hundreds of Trump supporters, angered because they believed the election was stolen, descended on the Capitol bent on causing mayhem and destroying public property.
Although five people died at or near the U.S. Capitol that day, none of those deaths were caused by the protesters. Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt was gunned down by a Capitol Police officer. It was months before officials even revealed his name. Babbitt, a Trump supporter, was unarmed. To hear Pelosi, President Biden and Vice President Harris tell it, the Capitol uprising was the biggest threat to “our democracy” since 9/11, or Pearl Harbor, and even, according to Biden, since the Civil War! To say this is hyperbole would be an under-statement. The New Criterion’s Roger Kimbell wrote that “what they mean by “our democracy” is their oligarchy.”
The media from the beginning as played fast and loose with the facts of this case. Example: the New York Times reported that officer Brian Sicknick succumbed to his injuries after he was bludgeoned with a fire extinguisher wielded by a crazed Trump supporter. Other media outlets were all too willing to run with that gem. It turns out that Sicknick died the following day from “natural causes. “In fact, four of the five who died, were supporters of the former President. Other than the bullet that struck and killed Babbitt, no other shots were fired that day and not one firearm was recovered. Doesn’t sound like an “armed insurrection, “does it?
Democrats are desperately trying to keep the events of last January 6th in the public consciousness because they seek to squash, not just Donald Trump, but also the populist sentiment that put him in the Oval Office. In other words, it’s you and it’s me, Middle America, the people Hillary Clinton once described as “the deplorables," who are the threat to their little fiefdoms.
Many of the men being held in connection with the uprising have been described as “domestic terrorists” and remained in solitary confinement for months waiting to be brought to trial. These political prisoners were denied their right to a speedy trial guaranteed under the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution. As of this week, according to the New York Times “more than 225 people have been accused of attacking or interfering with the police that day. About 275 have been charged with what the government describes as the chief political crime on Jan. 6: obstructing Congress’s duty to certify the 2020 presidential vote count. A little over 300 people have been charged with petty crimes alone, mostly trespassing and disorderly conduct.”
Americans are generally a peaceful, law-abiding people, but half of the country believes Joe Biden didn’t rightfully win the election. 74. 2 million Americans voted for Donald Trump in November 2020, eleven million more than pulled the lever for him in 2016. Fears over the Wuhan Flu had many Americans panicked, which gave Democratic Governors in states controlled by Republican Legislatures, the pretext to alter election rules in key swing states. More on that in next week’s column.
Suffice it to say that when a large portion of the electorate believes their votes don’t count, bad things can happen. Let’s hope the recent changes made to election laws in Georgia, Arizona and other swing states will prevent another January 6.