More than 15,000 people marched on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, to protest the election of Joe Biden. The march descended into disorder, which appears to have been a mix of protest, riot, and insurrection. It’s been necessary to painstakingly sort through those present to ascertain who committed crimes and who was just protesting. The FBI and federal prosecutors have made enormous exertions to do just that.
At this time it appears ~800 people will be prosecuted, most of them for offenses like “unlawful entry” and “entering a restricted area.” But some — more than a handful — likely will face more serious charges. This was to be expected; after all, 5 people died, dozens of police officers were injured, there was millions in property damage, and House and Senate members and staff fled in fear of their lives from a rampaging mob.
As more details emerge from investigations and court filings, it appears prosecutors are zeroing in on a pair of radical, violent, paramilitary groups — the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. The accumulating evidence indicates they conspired, planned, and carried out an organized attack on the Capitol and the electoral vote counting process. Prosecutors are especially looking at the fact the Oath Keepers stockpiled guns in a nearby motel for “backup” and discussed among themselves how to get them across the Potomac River to the Capitol.
On Sunday, May 30, 2021, CNN said (here) the conspiracy case against the Oath Keepers “is the largest against any of the far-right extremist groups that participated in the pro-Trump siege on January 6.” On Friday, May 28, a grand jury issued new indictments, and over the weekend federal prosecutors slapped additional charges on 5 previous Oath Keepers defendants and leveled charges against four new ones, all from Florida, arrested last week.
By all indications, the federal prosecutors will concentrate their greatest efforts on the members of private armies who conspired to overthrow our constitutional process of government.
The Oath Keepers aren’t the Khmer Rouge or Boko Haram. There are militant groups in the world far worse than them. But let’s not forget what they are: Violent revolutionaries who attacked our democracy to install a strongman in its place.
Related story: Barbara Streisand said (here) Republicans “want an authoritarian state.”