The Oath Keepers Verdicts Correct the Record on January 6

The jury concludes that there was a spontaneous riot at the Capitol, rather than an elaborate plot to make war on the United States.

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Protesters gather in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., January 6, 2021.

Stephanie Keith/Reuters

It wasn’t an elaborate, multilayered plot. It wasn’t democracy hanging by a thread. It was a mob run amok, a riot. It was dangerous for those on the scene, and it was notorious because it happened at the Capitol instead of, say, on the streets of Minneapolis. But it was a spontaneous, chaotic, nearly pointless tantrum that had no chance of achieving even the nebulous, short-term aim of preventing Congress from counting state-certified electoral votes, much less of overthrowing America’s constitutional order.

Oh, and to hear prosecutors tell the story of January 6, Donald Trump had precious little to do with the whole thing.

Andrew C. McCarthy

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.

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