“The chief judge of the federal court in Washington scorched Capitol riot suspects during a hearing on Thursday, calling their actions an assault on American democracy and ruling that a man who had bragged about putting his feet on a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office should stay in jail as he awaits trial,” CNN reported on Thursday, January 28, 2021.
“‘This was not a peaceful protest. Hundreds of people came to Washington, DC, to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power,’ Chief Judge Beryl Howell (photo, left) of the DC District Court said …. Howell made clear she believes the crowd was trying to thwart the federal legislative branch from carrying out its duties.” Read story here.
Which, of course, is exactly what they were doing. Specifically, they tried to prevent Congress from formalizing a presidential election, in the manner the Constitution spells out, which their candidate lost.
They didn’t just trespass. They murdered a cop, injured dozens more, and made terroristic threats against members of Congress. But their crimes don’t stop there. By trying to violently overthrow the election, they also violated the civil rights of every single one of the 81 million voters who chose Biden. There are 81 million victims of their crimes.
Amnesty won’t fix this. These people won’t go home if they’re let off the hook; that will embolden them to commit further acts of violence. Just yesterday, an armed man was arrested near the Capitol with “Stop the Steal” paperwork and a possible target list of legislators in his possession (read story here). There will be a lot more of this if authorities don’t crack down on political violence. What’s needed right now is deterrence.
Prosecuting these violent insurrectionists isn’t about revenge or even punishment. It’s about defending our lives and freedom. If they can’t get along with the rest of us peacefully, they have to be confined for our protection and those who represent us.
Photo below: Richard Barnett, 60, of Gravette, Arkansas, shown here in Pelosi’s office, is now in jail
Return to The-Ave.US Home Page
And there are reasons we have appeals courts. Could be the case here as all these suspects have rights and have not yet been found guilty. One of those rights is being out on bond, and a bunch of others in that Bill of Rights. These folks are presumed innocent no matter that the judge thinks they are guilty of something. [Off-topic portion of comment deleted pursuant to Commenting Policy para. G — Ed.]
Bonds should be set extremely high. They are a menace to the public and some should not be set bail at all.
The Eighth Amendment prohibits “excessive” bail. Judges have some leeway to deny bail or set high bail, but it has to be reasonble in the circumstances.