What the Capitol Riot Prosecutions Tell Us

The rioters will be punished appropriately, but not punished as if they were terrorists who were trying to overthrow the United States government.

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Police clear the U.S. Capitol with tear gas in Washington, D.C. January 6, 2021.

Stephanie Keith/Reuters

The office of the United States attorney for the District of Columbia has a “Sedition Task Force” focused on the January 6 riot . . . but it doesn’t have a sedition case.

Federal prosecutors haven’t charged any terrorism offenses, but, as a rationale for denying one defendant bail, they are trying to convince a skeptical federal judge that by damaging a doorway in forcing her way into the Capitol — a crime often treated as a misdemeanor, and for which the maximum sentence is just ten years — she committed a “crime of terrorism.”

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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