In congressional testimony on Thursday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland answered questions on a wide range of issues and crises in which the Biden administration is mired, but one answer in particular again debunked a key Democrat talking point about what happened at the Capitol on January 6th.
Asked by Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX) whether any of the individuals arrested in connection with the events of January 6th were charged with "insurrection," Garland answered "I don't believe so."
Rep. @LouieGohmertTX1: "Has any defendant involved in the January 6th events been charged with insurrection?"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 21, 2021
AG GARLAND: "I don't believe so."
GOHMERT: "Well that is the word most used by Democrats here on Capitol Hill." pic.twitter.com/pWIWtJKg7U
As Gohmert then points out, Democrats in Congress and throughout the federal government along with mainstream media figures at CNN, MSNBC, and across the internet continue to assert that what unfolded on January 6th was "an insurrection." But if January 6th was an insurrection, certainly some of the individuals being prosecuted by the government for their alleged role in the events of January 6th would be charged with the crime of insurrection? If not, then the logical conclusion is that January 6th did not, in fact, rise to the level of an insurrection.
The federal statute such crimes — 18 U.S. Code § 2383 - Rebellion or insurrection — reads as follows:
Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
Garland's admission that no insurrection charges are being brought in no way absolves those being charged with different crimes — mostly assault, entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct, and civil disorder — and those charged should be granted their constitutional right to a fair and speedy trip through the criminal justice system. The lack of insurrection charges also does not mean those who allegedly damaged property, illegally entered the Capitol, or assaulted law enforcement officers shouldn't face accountability for their actions — they should. But the kind and level of crimes committed shouldn't be exaggerated for political gamesmanship.
The Democrat-Media complex, through, is apparently not concerned with accuracy. For them, January 6th apparently needs to be made as scary as possible.
And as has been demonstrated by the likes of Chicago Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Democrats running for office, anything or anyone they don't like now is an insurrection or an insurrectionist. It's become a buzzword for the left, and their overuse and inaccurate use of the word means that now everything is insurrection, meaning nothing is an insurrection.
As Townhall reported in August, an FBI report concluded that the events of January 6th were not "the result of an organized plot to overturn the presidential election result" because the FBI "believes the violence was not centrally coordinated by far-right groups or prominent supporters of then-President Donald Trump."
But facts apparently don't matter to our liberal "know-better" leaders and pundits who, by overstating things, have ruined their own credibility — again.