Criminalizing Protest at the Capitol
For four years, Democrats worked hard to criminalize support for Donald Trump. They investigated Lt. General Michael Flynn, advisor Carter Page, personal attorney Michael Cohen, foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulus, and campaign strategist Roger Stone, among others. Most were arrested for brief periods. None were guilty of anything related to Trump, most weren’t guilty of any crime at all. They were prosecuted because of their affiliation with President Trump.
Now, our duly re-elected President Trump has been ousted from the office of president by a criminal conspiracy to install Joseph Biden, an usurper, in his place. To do this, a combination of voter fraud, election fraud, dereliction of duty in the courts, and suppression of conservative speech was employed.
One of the more perfidious examples of the new intolerance for all things connected to an honest assessment of the 2020 election are the mass arrests of people who attended the January 6th rally in Washington D.C. Two events took place on that day, each initiated by different groups of people on opposite sides of the election integrity issue.
On one side, Trump supporters gathered on the Ellipse to hear the president speak on the subject of election fraud and to show their support. On the other side, Antifa-led groups met at the Capitol for the purpose of gaining unlawful entry to the building, vandalizing it, and blaming Trump supporters for their actions. As proof of their goals, they broadcast messages on social media that exposed their plans in enough detail to leave no doubt regarding their intentions. The Antifa members, all of whom attended the Capitol riot for the purpose of defaming President Trump, wore pro-Trump merchandise to disguise themselves as Trump supporters. This is well-documented.
Thanks to a late arrival at the Ellipse, the president concluded his speech about half an hour later than expected. A half hour walk’s distance from Trump’s rally, Antifa-led groups “stormed the Capitol” before Trump had finished speaking, while most of the people in attendance remained at the Ellipse. By the time genuine Trump supporters arrived at the Capitol, Antifa had already entered the building and begun their riotous behavior. Some Trump supporters wandered in, some invited by the Capitol police, with no inkling that there would be any question whether it was legal to do so.
Democrat politicians, Republican quislings, and media dishonestly described the Trump rally as a riot that culminated in “storming the Capitol”. Describing the rally in that way conflated two separate events held by two separate groups of people who held opposing views. The truth is that Trump supporters, when they saw Antifa was present, made efforts to stop them from unlawful conduct.
In some cases, they were successful. Regardless, the new and illegitimate regime in power has released some Antifa members that were arrested but is retaining custody of Trump supporters arrested for attending the Trump rally.
Case in point: Retired Army sergeant and veteran Sgt. Kenneth Harrelson traveled to Washington D.C. on January 6th to provide security for President Trump’s rally as a member of the Oath Keepers group. As a direct result of his arrest, his wife lost her job, their bank account was frozen, and his family is now subject to criminal threats and harassment while he waits in prison. They do not have the money to hire a defense attorney.
According to a statement released by Harrelson’s wife, he had no advance knowledge of Antifa’s planned action at the Capitol. He saw it for the first time when he escorted members of the Trump rally to the Capitol, which had already been overrun by Antifa. He stayed to assist members of the Capitol Hill police force and people in the crowd who had been pepper-sprayed. For this, he was arrested and his family is now at risk of losing their home, car, and have already lost their livelihood.
Harrelson’s story is unfortunately not unique. Hundreds of people have been unjustly arrested for similar reasons and with similar effects. Their crime wasn’t riot or insurrection, though that is what the arrest warrants claim. Their “crime” was no crime at all. They supported Donald Trump, that is all. However, it isn’t as simple as that. Arresting this group of people on this false pretext provides a reason to engage in more widespread suppression of Trump voters, to intimidate them through this example, and to protect themselves by installing tens of thousands of National Guard troops in Washington.
The reasons given for arresting rally attendees are ludicrous in light of how Democrats treated protestors who stormed the Capitol and occupied it during the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings in 2018. They were celebrated by Democrats as courageous, not as insurrectionists. Some were arrested but the charges were far less serious than what Trump supporters face for attending Trump’s rally. This ignores another discrepancy between the two groups: most Trump supporters, including among those arrested, never entered the Capitol. Of those who did, many were invited to enter by Capitol Hill police who removed barricades and waved them in.
A second group of “protesters” that unequivocally demonstrates Democrat treachery, are the people who organized and participated in the hundreds of riots that started last year after the death of George Floyd in March. Democrats lauded the protests, excused the rioters, and then cooperated by telling police to stand down, or by not prosecuting the few protester/rioters who were arrested. The small number who were arrested and prosecuted received light sentences considering the crimes committed: looting, arson, assault, vandalism, and murder.
The people of our country are now faced with a choice: will we allow our criminal justice system to be inverted so that the innocent are punished and the guilty go free? Or will we object, make our voices heard, and reverse this evil trend? Unfortunately, it isn’t so simple. As we saw in 2020, the people of this country no longer have a voice at the ballot box.
When a fraudulent election is allowed to stand, no vote matters until that problem is solved. Secondly, with free speech under attack from all sides, starting with social media suppression, consistent but false narratives in the press, and the ever-lurking danger of cancel culture, the risk of free speech has never been greater.
Our government has been co-opted by forces antagonistic to the people of America and our Constitutional form of government. To do it, many who hold elected office have betrayed their oath of office by not defending the Constitution or by actively working to violate it. Sadly, the number of corrupted politicians who have betrayed our people is now so great that a simple list of their names would exceed the word count alotted for most articles. They couldn’t do what they do without support from other politicians. All of them must be impeached.
If anyone has committed crimes against our government, if any insurrection has taken place, it was done by the people who enabled Joseph Biden to take up residence at the White House, and who now persecute Trump supporters. Impeach them all, at every level. There is no time to waste.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2021/03/criminalizing_protest_at_the_capitol.html
