You can fall on whatever side of the fence you like in regard to the January 6th incident in 2021. Half of people call it insurrection, while the other half call it a protest with bad actors that devolved into chaos. Whatever the side you might be on, there is no denying that some of the indictments resulting from that day have been trumped up, and completely out of the norm.
There were plenty of cases of people being criminally charged, or fired from their jobs, for simply being present in Washington DC on the day of the riot. They did not even participate in the storming of the Capitol. Just simply were present in the general area on the same day. There were plenty of others too hit with petty misdemeanors never even seen before in the justice system.
All of it an attack on Trump supporters for voicing their displeasure in a questionable election. This is not saying what happened was right. But there was a definite overstep from the Department of Justice in their charges. But now that Donald Trump has been elected again, those who face rather unjust imprisonment are now seeing new hope.
Journalist Julie Kelly says the was most excited for those people the night Trump was elected.
"Knowing there is hope for them...and exoneration of these claims, and their government not calling them domestic terrorists anymore," she says.
The whole thing was a sham from the jump. Our country literally had people burning down stores and assaulting people in the 'name of justice' for George Floyd in 2020. You know, actual acts of domestic terrorism. In recent months, there have been violent anti-Israel protestors assaulting cops and people in the name of Palestine, yet nothing has been done about any of them.
They have all gone on to live their life without any consequence. All while people who were simply there on January 6th have had their lives turned upside down. Just for being present on that day.
Trump's win has brought hope back for them, as many of their defense attorneys are now appealing to federal judges, requesting some of the outstanding cases be postponed until after the Inauguration.
Some of the cases do get stickier though, when you start getting into the obstruction and interference charges. But those should even go by the wayside, thanks to a ruling these last few years.
"The Supreme Court how the DOJ unlawfully applied obstruction charges, that were supposed to fall under the tampering with documents statues...those were all used for the first time during January 6th, and has been overturned," she says.
There was some violence, yes, on that day. A few bad actors did assault police officers and other people. But it was a small handful. Meanwhile, many near the Capitol got charged with assaulting police, even if they did nothing assaulting. Those cases might even be on the chopping block for a pardon.
"This could be someone who just yelled at a police officer or touched a riot shield...we see that all the time with protests around the country, but none of them ever get charged under that statue," she says.
Over 1,500 people were charged over that fateful say, with 950 of them taking plea deals. But they might only have to wait a few weeks for true justice to come their way.
Photo: Douglas Rissing / iStock / Getty Images
