The Coming “January 6” Train Wreck

JamesBovard.com blog ^ | &-24-2021 | James Bovard

[blam]

The January 6 Capitol clash may be the gift that keeps on giving to cynics everywhere. In the coming months, Americans will likely see jaw-dropping bureaucratic debacles, stunning abuses by federal prosecutors, and appalling bloodlust by angry Biden supporters. Perhaps the least likely outcome is that the coming train wreck will restore faith in American democracy.

The Justice Department declared last week, “The investigation and prosecution of the Capitol Breach will be the largest in American history, both in terms of the number of defendants prosecuted and the nature and volume of the evidence.” The feds are sorting through “237,000 digital tips, 1 million Parler videos and images comprising 40 terabytes of data scraped from the Internet — roughly equivalent to 10 million photos, 20,000 hours of video, or 50,000 filing cabinets of paper documents,” theWashington Post reported. Investigators are also sorting through “cell tower data for thousands of electronic devices that connected to the Capitol’s interior distributed antenna system,” information provided by phone companies, Google, and other data aggregation companies. The problem will be compounded because many government employees are slow readers.

More than 500 protestors have already been charged in federal court, but their trials will likely be delayed at least until next year. Federal judge John Bates recently warned that evidence snafus could result in judges “going on the warpath.” If judges conclude that the Justice Department is unreasonably keeping January 6 defendants locked up (often in solitary confinement) too long, judicial edicts could unravel prosecutors’ long-term plans.

Federal cases against January 6 protestors are being built on what one savvy electronic evidence consultant called a “Tower of Babel nightmare.” While federal agents gloated at the 300,000 plus tips that poured into the FBI with regards to January 6 protestors, prosecutors are obliged to sift the hairballs and provide each defendant and their lawyers with potentially exculpatory evidence. The biggest data dump on record will likely spur a deluge of inadvertent or intentional withholding of evidence. The Justice Department recently notified defense lawyers that they would have to “build a system to receive the data” the feds delivered. The prosecution is also whining because a federal judge prevented them from relying on a private contractor to organize secret grand jury evidence.

The Justice Department may be delaying release of the bulk of the more than 14,000 hours of video surveillance from inside the Capitol on January 6 in an attempt to preserve Biden’s “domestic terrorism” storyline of that day’s events. Even before Trump supporters poured into the Capitol that day, Democrats were accusing them of sedition for filing legal challenges to the 2020 election results, including popular Twitter hashtags such as #GOPSeditiousTraitors and #TreasonAgainstAmerica. After the mob delayed congressional proceedings for six hours, congressional leaders compared the interruption to the 9/11 attacks, Pearl Harbor, and the War of 1812. The Justice Department may also be foot-dragging on releasing evidence because it is reluctant to disclose what role, if any, federal informants or undercover agents had in instigating or propagating violence that day.

For January 6 defendants, federal prosecutors are using a simple formula: Trespassing plus thought crimes equals terrorism. On Monday, Paul Hodgkins was sentenced to 8 months in prison, though the feds admitted he was guilty simply of taking selfies, wearing a Trump T-shirt, and carrying a Trump flag into the Senate chamber and “did not personally engage in or espouse violence or property destruction.” Though Hodgkins pled guilty only to one count of obstructing an official proceeding, Biden’s Justice Department demanded a lengthy prison sentence for Hodgkins to “deter…domestic terrorism.” This is akin to prosecutors seeking harsh punishment for a confessed jaywalker because his negligent behavior could have caused a school bus to crash.

At the same time the Justice Department is bumbling towards paralysis, many Americans are howling for the heads of January 6 defendants. In his Gulag Archipelago, Alexander Solzhenitsyn described the vast public outrage that went along with a prominent Soviet show trial of accused wreckers: “There were universal meetings and demonstrations (including even school-children). It was the newspaper march of millions, and the roar rose outside the windows of the courtroom: ‘Death! Death! Death!’” The same spectacle has been stark on Twitter and in the comment section of the Washington Post, among other places.

One Washington Postcommenter declared that “the only effective way for the government to respond to an act of war by domestic terrorists is to be prepared to meet them with machine guns and flamethrowers and mow them down. Not one of those terrorists who broke through police lines [on January 6] should have escaped alive.” Hodgkins’s sentence terrified and enraged Post readers. One wrote, “The pitiful 8 month sentence scares me badly… I’m afraid the government is losing its ability to protect us from madmen (consider the mentally ill and tweakers roaming our streets untreated) and right wing Q inspired terrorists.” Another commented, “He should have been given the death penalty for sedition.” As always, one commenter even reached back to the Nazis for an analogy, writing, “It is comparable to the 9 months that Adolf Hitler served after his participation in an attempted 1923 putsch against the German government. Remember how that turned out?”

Federal judge Randolph Moss, when he sentenced Hodgkins, declared that his action will make it “harder for all of us to tell our children and grandchildren that democracy stands as the immutable foundation of our nation.” Unfortunately, judges seem nonchalant when American democracy is subverted instead by federal agencies. After FBI Assistant General Counsel Kevin Clinesmith admitted falsifying key evidence to get a FISA warrant to spy on the Trump presidential campaign, federal judge James Boasberg gushed with sympathy at the sentencing hearing: “Mr. Clinesmith has lost his job in government service—what has given his life much of its meaning.” Scorning the recommendation of the federal prosecutor (who said the “resulting harm is immeasurable recommendation” from Clinesmith’s action), Boasberg gave Clinesmith a wrist slap—400 hours of community service and 12 months of probation. The Justice Department Inspector General documented many other abuses of power and deceit by FBI officials in the Hillary Clinton or Trump investigations, but not a single FBI official has spent a day behind bars.

Will Justice Department prosecutors be caught in a Catch-22, pressured by the White House to harvest as many scalps as possible but crippled by the lack of proof that most of the accused were guilty of anything besides trespassing or “willfully and knowingly parading” in the Capitol? Political pressure for high-profile convictions resulted in disastrous courtroom defeats for federal attorneys prosecuting Ruby Ridge, the Branch Davidian standoff at Waco, and other cases. If juries rebuff prosecutors on more than a few January 6 cases, then the entire political storyline could quickly collapse.

Federal prosecutor Mona Sedky is calling for harsh punishment for January 6 defendants because of “the need to preserve respect for the law.” But at this point, “respect for the law” is a loss leader in this process. That won’t be remedied when people realize that taking selfies can result in a federal sentencing enhancement.

[gitmo]

The theft of the 2020 election WAS THE INSURRECTION.

[Quentin Quarantino]

It’s all right out of the Reichstag Fire Playbook. See Pg. 1, Chapter 1, Paragraph 1.

[butlerweave]

Investigate Nancy for not paying the National Guard

[DPMD]

Having been around them for a long time, i can attest to the general illiteracy among fed employees.

[DPMD]

It’d be nice if the russian hackers could break into pelosi’s or liz cheney’s computers to retrieve a copy of the Final Report being saved for the big reveal.

[PghBaldy]

Would have been nice if Trump issued blanked amnesty or pardons in his last two weeks in office.

[Peter ODonnell]

This is a milder version of the totalitarian examples given but perhaps more than anything else, it is a farce. There was no real insurrection and the government (regime shall we say) has over-reacted just like it has with every other file on the desk.

This has to end. Our society is falling apart because of all this ridiculous posturing by the left, and the distortion of actual election results. The only significant crimes on January 6 were the theft of the election, and the murder of an unarmed protestor.

[gw-ington]

What was the actual purpose of Trump supporters storming the Capitol Building?

One contributor on this forum recently said almost all of the Capitol Building storm-troopers were Antifa/BLM/Democrats in MAGA disguise. If true, then why is the Biden government trying to prosecute all those Antifa/BLM/Democrats for storming the Capitol? Aren't they his buddies?

Another commenter said Trump, during his speech in front of the Capitol, explicitly told his supporters to be peaceful. If so, then why did those same Trump supporters ignore Trump's message and storm the Capitol?

The general consensus among the country's electorate is that Trump's speech inspired his Republican supporters in the crowd to storm the Capitol Building, so that's what they then did. Because of that, anytime a Republican says the 2020 election was stolen, the Democrats instantly respond: Actually it's the Republican Trump supporters who tried to subvert American democracy by storming the Capitol Building. So the average American voter thinks: Well, I may have concerns about the 2020 election but I didn't actually witness anything, whereas I can actually see Trump speaking to his Republican supporters in front of the Capitol in January 2021 and I can actually see his Republican supporters then storming the Capitol Building.

Therefore, all Republican candidates in 2024 will have to deal with the aftermath and this kind of question from MSM reporters (over and over again): "As a Republican candidate, do you or do you not condone Trump urging his supporters to storm the Capitol and do you support the Republican Trump supporters then wildly storming the Capitol Building?" I'm not aware of any leading Republican candidate who is competent enough to effectively answer that question and thus attract more votes. Which Republican leader is going to step forward in 2024?

Obviously, I'm not optimistic about the Republican Party. Trump's top political advisors, Jared & Ivanka, were totally blind-sided by the Democrats who stole the election with a clueless, zombie-puppet candidate, Sleepy Joe. Even President Trump himself presciently told his supporters during many of his large campaign rallies, that he would go down in history as losing to "the worst candidate in the history of Presidential politics." Sad.

[yesthatjallen]

Done correctly by Republicans with balls, I see a Jan. 6 hearing as a great opportunity. Take this photo for example:

Who are these guys? Trump supporters or something else? Why are they dressed the same; almost Black Bloc attire.

Why are they wearing headphones (and microphones)? Are they in communication with each other or are there more people connected to their network?

Two faces are clear. Can they be identified with facial recognition software?

Bring this photo to the hearing and leaving it up behind the panel. Ask lots of questions. Have they been identified? If not why? If they have been arrested what are their names? If they haven't been identified ask is it possible to identify them and how long will it take?

A hearing would be a great place to ask lots of questions. Lots of embarrassing questions.

[nesnah]

Great questions. And why is wearing one of these important?

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FI%2F41rMfUQjRcL._AC_SY1000_.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FGoPro-Built-Waterproof-Wearable-Adventure%2Fdp%2FB00OI1JW7E&tbnid=_UuqyuhAltwoHM&vet=12ahUKEwi9t8qiufzxAhX_rXIEHZE8B8cQMygGegUIARCnAw..i&docid=biH9XnuHUuy7FM&w=310&h=314&q=wearable%20camera%20chest%20hero4&client=ms-android-americamovil-us-revc&ved=2ahUKEwi9t8qiufzxAhX_rXIEHZE8B8cQMygGegUIARCnAw

[gw-ington]

Can they be identified with facial recognition software?

Facebook & Snapchat can easily identify them. Here's how that discussion will go:

yesthatjallen: "Would you please identify them?"

Facebook: "No."

yesthatjallen: "How about you, Snapchat? Will you please identify them?"

Snapchat: "No."

Facebook: "Can I jump back into the conversation for a second?"

yesthatjallen: "Sure."

Facebook: "We've just decided to permanently ban Trump from our platform. Permanently."

Twitter: "Oh yeah, us, too. How about you Snapchat? Will you agree to permanently ban Trump, too?"

Snapchat: "Um, we're seriously thinking about doing so."

yesthatjallen: "Ok, well, that went far better than expected."

[End of Story]

[gw-ington]

Gotta give full credit to the Democrat Party Cabal (comprising Democrats, BLM/Antifa, Soros, RINOs, and Communist China): They all happily joined hands and worked very closely to remove Trump from office.

Unfortunately, Trump's top legal advisors, the incompetent Jared & Ivanka, were laughably caught sleeping during the Democrats' stolen election. Is that surprising? Even worse, Trump, with the stock market at all-time highs, lost to the clueless, zombie-puppet Sleepy Joe. What does it say about Trump's judgement that he was certain Jared & Ivanka would make good political advisors in the Washington, DC shark tank?

[clearcarbon]

"many government employees are slow readers."

Illiterate?

[Truthoverpower]

The scariest thing right now is the courts

Despite Trump being on top of this and appointing all kinds of conservative tourists we still have courts not doing their job and not deciding cases on the constitutionality of the issues brought before them

In particular I’m talking about the Supreme Court

The fact that the Supreme Court punted on the 17 states argument in December was a big red flag

In the end the United States of America is a rule of law not men

If the law the juries and the courts become corrupt that is the end of America as we know it

So it is long time for these judges in these courts to start acting their part and doing their job

We have the media and the Democrats who go out in bold face lie about things even if there is direct video evidence contrary to what they’re saying

This is where courts have to come in and make decisions saying that white is not black ; up is not down ; and cold is not hot

They furthermore have to prosecute people equally !!!

Democrats do not continue to just get a pass for everything and Republicans get jailed for 10 years for a parking ticket or jaywalking!!

We’re waiting. Patiently.

[nesnah]

Even worse, Trump, with the stock market at all-time highs, lost to the clueless, zombie-puppet Sleepy Joe.

---

Our President didn’t lose to that moron, or anybody.

[DNME]

Think of how the illegal and immoral treatment of the January 6 suspects will echo down the line.

Will anybody in their right minds EVER swarm Washington D.C. to protest, ever again?

[grey_whiskers]

How many pages of Hillary Clinton email docs did they review in 48 hours again, in order to exonerate her almost instantly, of mishandling classified information?