Many Republicans, with the help of enablers like Fox News, have tried to falsely portray the Capitol riot as a peaceful protest, and even compared the rioters to “tourists”.
Here’s one of those so-called “peaceful” protesters:
“Forty-three-year-old Shane Jason Woods of Auburn, in central Illinois, was arrested Thursday and charged with assault on a law enforcement officer and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, the Chicago Tribune reported.
“According to the criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., video footage shows Woods deliberately tripping a U.S. Capitol police officer then pushing her to the ground as she tried to pursue someone else who had sprayed her with bear mace.
“Hours later, videos show Woods running after a cameraman and tackling him from behind, causing him to drop his camera, the complaint says. The journalist has estimated the mob caused at least $34,000 in damage, according to the complaint. Other videos and still images show Woods climbing over a fence that had been knocked down, and grabbing and throwing cameras and other equipment to the ground, the complaint alleges.”
As reported here by ABC News on Friday, June 25, 2021.
Every time a lawyer’s license is suspended for pushing election lies, as Giuliani’s was yesterday, or a Capitol rioter is sentenced, as this woman was on Wednesday, our democracy is being defended. Don’t compare this to the George Floyd protests; this is different. Let’s not forget what these people tried to do: Overthrow our elected government and install a strongman who considers himself unconstrained by either our constitutional framework of government or the rule of law. They wanted to turn our country into a Belarus or Russia.
There has to be accountability for this assault on our freedom to govern ourselves and choose our leaders; those who attacked our basic rights can’t be allowed to walk away scot-free. It doesn’t much matter what the specific punishments are, so long as they’re held responsible for their actions; it’s the principle that matters.
By holding them accountable, we’re upholding the rule of law, and defending our system of government. Anyone who thinks those things aren’t worth defending should try living in Belarus or Russia to find out first-hand what autocracy is like.
The problem is some would like the Chop folks gone after with as much gusto as the Fed are showing. If there had been some more rule of law actions taken against rioters in American cities that were ablaze all summer perhaps the DC riot would not have hit the scale it did. The CHOP was a clear attack on our democracy and government. Yet there does seem to be a double standard here.
The woman sentenced was a plea deal and got three years suspended and a $500 fine. Which maybe a reasonable sentence, and a lot of the participants will get similar sentences if they cooperate. Then again maybe Democrats will insist this sentence like the Chauvin sentence of 22 years and six months is far to light. At least he and his attorneys now know how long the sentence is if appeals fail, and some appeals will be too shorten the sentence because the judge accepted aggravating circumstances, though the Feds are going to try at a bite of the apple on the same charges, but not double jeopardy (of course it is).
You might want to look up how the CHOP protests were handled by prosecutors. Peaceful protesters were released; lawbreakers were charged. That’s the approach being taken with the Capitol rioters, too, so there’s no double standard. You’re jumping the gun on what Democrats will say about Chauvin’s sentence or Capitol rioters’ sentences; I’ll wait to hear what they actually say before commenting. Your comment about double jeopardy is off the mark; Chauvin was indicted by a federal grand jury for a different crime, so it’s not double jeopardy.
I predicted Chauvin would get 22½ years, and he got 22½ years. How did I know? Educated guess. I’ve been a lawyer for many years, and know how the legal system operates.