By Hank Bartholomew
On the morning of January 6, 2021, an as-of-yet unidentified group of people began the construction of a small wooden structure on Capitol grounds. A wooden platform, two main pillars, and a crossbar were assembled. A few hours later, this platform rode the surge of rioters storming the home of American democracy. Added to this structure was a small wooden rope. A gallows had been completed. Its intended occupant was the vice president of the free world.
January 6th has come, at least for many, to symbolize the Trump presidency. Over the last four years, it has become a rallying point for critics. But now, with Donald Trump back in office, a war to preserve the history of the Capitol Insurrection may be on the horizon.
At around twelve P.M on the day of the insurrection, President Donald Trump delivered a speech to supporters near the White House. At this time, it had become clear that Trump had lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden. But for the last few months, the president had been claiming that the election was “rigged” and a “sham,” disputing the results. “We will never give up,” proclaimed the most powerful man in America. “We will never concede.”
At around 1:00 PM, Trump ended his remarks, concluding, “We’re going to the Capitol. We’re going to try and give them [Republicans] the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.”
His supporters took these remarks to heart. Ordinary citizens and extremist group members alike stormed the symbol of American democracy, assaulting police officers and chanting death threats. Their intention was to overturn the legitimate democratic process.
Four years later, the memory of January 6th has faded. New issues and news now occupy us. But with the incoming administration, there have been efforts to change the narrative surrounding January 6th, to repaint the assault as a patriotic demonstration.
On his first day back in office, one of Donal Trump’s first actions was to pardon over 1,500 of the January 6th rioters. While certainly legal, this action is incredibly disturbing. A pardon is intended to commute the sentence of an individual wrongly imprisoned. Those pardoned are supposed to be victims of unfair persecution or targeting, people who deserve not to be punished. But those who stormed the capital on January 6th did commit a crime. Regardless of which side one falls on the political spectrum, that is an undeniable fact. Insurrectionists smashed windows and broke down doors. They vandalized the offices of congressional leaders and stole possessions. A capitol police officer, lying imobile on the ground, was beaten with a flag pole. Insurrectionists attacked police officers, slamming them into doors and engaging in fistfights. Capitol police officer Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, during testimony to Congress, vividly described how, “”My fellow officers and I were punched, kicked, shoved, sprayed with chemical irritants by a violent mob.” These are crimes. Regardless of whether their motivations were just or not, these are federal felonies. That much can not be disputed.
The point is that these individuals did commit a crime. By pardoning them, Trump has, for all purposes, proclaimed their innocence. And that is a grave mistake. Labeling beating law enforcement officers as legitimate and legal sets a precedent that such actions are acceptable. By pardoning January 6th rioters, Donald Trump has declared that violently assaulting American democracy is okay. It takes little imagination to see what could happen next.
Furthermore, the new president’s language is incredibly concerning. Throughout various interviews, America’s forty-seventh president has described the January 6th rioters as “political prisoners” and “patriots.” Such language is deeply disturbing. While it is possible these people were patriots–meaning they truly believed their actions were in the best interest of America–labeling these individuals as “political prisoners” is dangerous. Whether the justice system is flawed or not is entirely a different debate, but these people unequivocally committed a crime. Fox News and MSNBC alike broadcasted the same images to a shocked American public on that fateful day. We all saw the same thing. Our duty now is to provide, to our future generations, an accurate representation of what happened.
For evidence of these claims, look no further than the two most high-profile individuals pardoned by Donald Trump: Henry Tarrio and Stewart Rhodes. Tarrio was found with a six-page plan and manifesto declaring how the Proud Boys, a militia group that has white supremacy ties, would storm a variety of government institutions if Trump was not reinstated as president in 2020. Rhodes, the leader of the Oathkeepers, a para-military movement that has ties to ant-semetic movements, led a group of his followers to Washington, where they stashed a cache of weapons in a D.C. hotel.
I mention these examples not to criticize the former president or his supporters. I simply mention them to remind ourselves that these are criminals. These are acts of seditious conspiracy. As defined by the statute 18 U.S.C. § 2384, seditious conspiracy occurs “if two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof.” This statute has existed since 1948. It is not arbitrary. It is not a weapon of the Biden administration. It is a law meant to protect our nation. And Henry Tarrio and Stewart Rhodes, as well as innumerable other January 6th rioters, broke the law. They did try to “delay the execution of” a United States law–namely, the confirmation of Joe Biden as president. This is a crime. Labeling these individuals as anything other than criminals is inaccurate.
The purpose of this article is not to analyze the actions on January 6th. The American legal system has done its part with regard to the issue. Our bureaucracy has, for right or wrong, decided who is innocent or guilty. That is what it is. Maybe some feel Donald Trump’s actions were seditious. Maybe some believe the January 6th rioters should never have been prosecuted. But our government’s job is to make those determinations for us. And they have. We must accept what they say, or we have no government at all.
But what we can not accept is the removal of January 6th from our history.
In a democracy, it is our job to provide the public with facts, and then allow the public to make their own conclusions based on those facts. If we do not give ourselves the true facts to make those decisions, then our democracy truly is a sham.