My first impression about the January 6th Armed Insurrection was that it was a clown show. In the middle of 2020, the pundits warned everyone listening that this election would be prone to massive voter irregularities due to the increase in mail-in voting and the removal of voter integrity controls. The presidential election did not disappoint. Several precincts made errors. Some of the mistakes were innocent mistakes. Other mistakes are suspicious and warranted a non-partisan investigation. According to the media, the guys in this picture represent or are spokespeople for the “Big Lie”. When I look at photos of the insurrection, I do not see anyone who looks like a leader. Recently Reuters reported that the FBI has concluded that there was no conspiracy or coordinated effort behind the events at the Capitol on January 6. So why did the media select these guys? I think the press promoted these guys as leadership because it made for an entertaining news story even though they knew it was false.
When I think of an “armed insurrection”, I see it as the most extreme protest form. As an example of armed insurrection, I think of the first battle of the Revolutionary War at Lexington and Concord. The Americans were armed and wanted to overthrow British rule. People got shot, and there was no turning back.
Domestic terrorism is another example of extreme protest. Two examples of domestic terrorism are the 2017 Congressional Baseball shooting and the 2009 Fort Hood shooting. Both of these incidents involved a person shooting people they disagreed with for political reasons. However, unlike these events, no protester shot anyone on January 6.
The ANTIFA/BLM “mostly peaceful” protests in the summer of 2020 are more examples of extreme protests. These protests were far more organized and had a wide selection of non-lethal weaponry. Rocks, canned goods, and frozen water bottles were staged at strategic points for the protesters to throw. Some protesters carried commercial fireworks, lasers, and the occasional gun. When you compare the Armed Insurrection protesters to the sophistication of the ANTIFA/BLM protesters, the Armed Insurrection protesters were practically unarmed. Their weaponry appears to be bear spray and the occasional fire extinguisher once they got inside. It does not look like the majority of the protesters planned to breach the Capitol and were surprised it happened so quickly.
The final part of the unraveling narrative about the January 6th Armed Insurrection is the Capitol Police plan to defend the Capitol. When you look at the non-lethal weaponry employed by the police, you have to wonder whether they planned to defend the Capitol at all? I am pretty sure tear gas would have chased most protesters away. If that did not work, I suspect spraying the protesters with water in the middle of winter would have been a good deterrent, too. I did not see any tear gas in the photos and far too many physical confrontations between police and protesters. It was a stupid position to put the police in where tear gas would do. If you do not have the non-lethal weaponry, then the only plan left was for the Capitol Police to retreat. Most of the Capitol Police officers followed this plan. One officer did not and ended up shooting an unarmed Ashli Babbitt while she crawled in a window. She was not a lethal threat to the officer. Since the officer did not have pepper spray or other non-lethal weaponry to encourage her to retreat, the officer was responsible for de-escalating the situation by retreating. Just because the only weapon the officer had was a gun does not excuse the officer from the responsibility to withdraw and not to kill her.
The “Armed Insurrection” was neither armed nor an insurrection. President Biden and Speaker of the House Pelosi thought they could pin the protest on “white supremacists” and President Trump. They probably thought they could shut up President Trump and his supporters forever. The problem is that the facts do not support their position. First, the FBI has concluded that there was no conspiracy or coordinated effort. So it wasn’t Trump. Now the Department of Justice is left with indicting people for selfies. Second, the protest was about a stolen election. Although I remain skeptical that the voter fraud investigations will indict anyone or overturn the Presidential election, investigations in several states lead me to believe that it is now more likely than not that voter fraud turned several states. Thus, the “Big Lie” narrative was a coverup. As for shutting up President Trump, I don’t think it is working either!