On January 6, 2021, riots broke out on Capitol Hill, instigated by former US President Trump's repeated campaign "fraud" rhetoric. At the time, many Americans believed that then-Vice President Pence could prevent Congress from confirming the outcome of the election and reverse the situation. However, "when we found out that Pence had betrayed us, the crowd went crazy." A gardener in Alabama recalled two days after the riots, "The crowd turned into a mob." We rushed through the gate. ”
Investigators estimate that more than 2,000 people entered Capitol Hill that day, and 140 police officers suffered about 1,000 attacks. The unprecedented riots eventually resulted in the deaths of five people, millions of dollars in damage to the Capitol, and the humiliation of the United States in front of the world.
↑ The riots that took place at the U.S. Capitol early last year were unprecedented.
However, a year's investigation found that the vast majority of these mobs were ordinary people, did not belong to right-wing groups, and did not premeditate attacks...
Of the more than 600 rioters indicted, the vast majority were ordinary people
A year later, the arrest, investigation and prosecution of the rioters are still ongoing.
Nine months after the attack, 350 suspects remain unidentified. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, as of December 30, 2021, more than 725 people had been arrested in 50 states and the District of Columbia. Of these, 640 have been charged with entering or remaining in restricted federal buildings or areas; 225 have been charged with assaulting, resisting or obstructing officials or staff, 75 of whom have used lethal or dangerous weapons to cause bodily harm to officials; at least 275 have been charged with obstructing law enforcement; some 40 have been charged with conspiracy theories and 10 have been charged with attacks on media and equipment.
Court records as of early November showed that of all those indicted by the federal government, 77 suspects were linked to the far-right groups Three Percent, Guardians of Oaths and Proud Boys. Members of these organizations are prepared for violence in advance. Some members of the Pride Boys were among the first to break down barricades and attack police. Dozens of people have now been accused of preparedly storming Capitol Hill in an attempt to obstruct Congress's confirmation of biden's presidency.
↑ The crowd outside the Capitol clashes with police.
But the vast majority of the more than 600 people are not part of right-wing groups and did not premeditate an attack on Capitol Hill, many of whom are ordinary Americans, including community leaders, small business owners, teachers and yoga instructors. Someone goes with a badge of work, someone goes with a coat with their phone number printed on the back.
Court documents and public records as of November 3 last year show that some 573 indictees have not been found to have any connection to extremist groups. Meanwhile, while more than a dozen people have been charged or convicted of domestic violence, federal prosecutors have found no serious criminal record among most suspects.
According to an anonymous law enforcement official, the evidence so far suggests that the vast majority of riot participants "have no plans" to overthrow the government and "they don't know what they're doing." Many of them don't even know where they're going. ”
From 18 to 81 years old, their hearts
According to reports, on the day of the riot, even the members of the "Proud Boys" were shocked by the "influence" of their own organization in the riot. One member told others: "This is not what I was expecting to happen today. It's all from us... It made those ordinary people angry. "These ordinary people include 18-year-old teenagers and 81-year-olds.
In mid-December, Gary Wixham, an 81-year-old veteran, was sentenced to three years of probation, 80 days of home imprisonment, $500 for building damage and a $2,000 fine for illegally entering Capitol Hill. Gary Wixham said at the hearing that he went to Washington, D.C. because he was "old and bored at home."
↑ Only a small percentage of those indicted are associated with far-right groups. Pictured is a member of the Proud Boys.
Another rioter, Robert Reid, told FBI investigators that he actually hated former President Donald Trump but liked the phrase "make America great again." After the election, he made a lot of unfounded election fraud on social media, claiming that "civil war is coming" and "extremists will die". But he had never even participated in a demonstration before, and only temporarily decided to attend a Trump rally that morning.
Reid said: "I'm not with anyone. I also don't have any combat gear. The only oneS in my backpack were two protein bars. He argued that although he had entered the Capitol twice, walked through tear gas and pushed a police officer, it was an "unexpected reaction after being beaten", that the behavior at the time was "not me", and that he did not consider himself one of the rioters who broke into the Capitol.
Still, Judge Thomas Hogan doesn't believe Reed "doesn't know exactly what's going on", and has heard too many people say so. The judge believed that he had been involved in the riots for so long, heard the sirens, felt the pepper spray, and seen people shoving and ramming the police, so he was not simply swept in by the crowd and eventually sentenced to 3 months in prison.
Thomas Sibik had also never attended a Trump rally before Jan. 6, and lawyers said he had "never shown a tendency to be violent in his life." But video evidence shows that when Officer Mike Fanone was lying on the ground and beaten to the point of unconsciousness, Sibik snatched his badge and radio. Sibik has not pleaded guilty to assaulting, robbery, etc., arguing that he is trying to help the police officer.
There are countless examples of ordinary people like this. However, federal prosecutors pointed out: "There is no riot without rioters, and the actions of each rioter, from the most ordinary to the most violent, all directly and indirectly 'contributed' to the violence and destruction of the day." ”
↑ On the day of the riot, people climbed the scaffolding erected for Biden's inauguration.
Why would "good guys who have never been in legal trouble" "turn into terrorists" on January 6? Professor Brian Levine of California State University said that under the corresponding circumstances, even those with very weak connections to extremist views can become violent because "the sense of responsibility dissipates" in the crowd, the "temptation of peer confirmation" and the "cloak of anonymity" are obtained.
Some people repented, some people continued to cling, and the judge feared that another riot would come
Many of the hundreds of defendants in the Capitol Hill riots have expressed their position through lawyers, blaming Trump and his rhetoric for inciting their actions, but some continue to look through a "partisan filter" to see what happened.
Sibik was arrested and awaited trial in prison before being released last October after being diagnosed with a mental illness, performing well in prison and struggling to distance himself from other extreme prisoners in the prison.
In a handwritten letter from prison, he told the judge that the former president, who had followed capitol Hill, was now "disgusted with him" and vowed that "I will never take part in another political protest in my lifetime, the first and last one I attended!" And I will never allow myself to be overwhelmed by that mob mentality, which is dangerous. Of these, the word "forever" was underlined twice by him.
Former model Nathan deGrave has also been accused of fighting police on Capitol Hill. In March last year, his first lawyer said on his behalf that he "regretted it" endlessly. But he then replaced him with a conservative lawyer. Now, Nathan describes himself as a "'political prisoner' in jail simply because he was a Trump supporter who took part in a 'peaceful protest until the police attacked nonviolent actors."" ”
Many of the judges involved in the riot investigation have expressed their concern that false information that is still circulating to this day will lead to another similar attack. For a year now, although dozens of election audits and court cases across the United States have found no evidence of so-called election fraud, some people still believe that the results of the election have been "stolen." Many judges have received threats from these people.
When a couple from Kentucky pleaded guilty, Judge Reggie Walton lamented, "Unfortunately, what prompted you to do those things is still circulating in people's mouths." ”
According to a recent poll published by The Washington Post and the University of Maryland, 34 percent of Americans believe that violence against the government is sometimes "justified," and the percentage of those who hold that view has increased significantly compared to the previous year.
Red Star News reporter Lin Rong
Edited by Zhang Xun
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