DOJ Moves on January 6 Rioters: Cases Grow, Indictments Delivered, Trials & Convictions Next

Proud Boys “leader” Enrique Tarrio indicted

(Others will follow same fate)

Historically good info added to the post that follows reported on here from Salon.com with this headline (and formatted to fit the blog):

“DOJ is aggressively prosecuting Capitol insurrectionists — and dismantling GOP lies about January 6”

The rioters Trump sicced on the Capitol were still tearing the place apart on January 6, 2021, when the folks at Fox News began their effort to minimize the seriousness of the insurrection.

Behind the scenes, hosts like Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity were frantically texting the White House, begging Trump to call his people back, but on-air, they were vigorously defending the insurrectionists.

Various other Fox News personalities would go on to claim that Trump's supporters were only there to “peacefully protest” and to pin the blame for the violence on “Antifa infiltrators.” 

In the months after the insurrection, the Republican deflection and minimization only escalated.

* Fox host Bret Baier said while thousands of Trump supporters literally overran cops, broke windows, and chased terrified members of Congress through the hallways: “It's not like it's a siege.”

* Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) claimed: “It was a normal tourist visit.”

* Tucker Carlson, Fox host, insisted: “It was not an insurrection.”

* Laura Ingraham argued: “One of the big lies that this was a coordinated insurrection.”

* Maria Bartiromo Fox business host called it: “Peaceful protest.” 

* Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said: “It didn't seem like an armed insurrection.”

When Capitol law enforcement officers and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) spoke of the violence they witnessed and feared that day, Fox News pundits accused them of lying.

When faced with images of rioters assaulting police and trying to attack members of Congress, their pivot was to blame the left, usually by claiming the violence was committed by Antifa or to accuse the FBI of orchestrating it as a false flag.  

To say these lies are relentless is to understate the case. The lies were also effective, as the majority of Republicans now endorse those false claims that the insurrection was either “peaceful or Antifa” and sometimes, contradicting themselves, they claim both at once. 

But this week illustrates how the DOJ has been through increasingly aggressive prosecution of the insurrectionists and their co-conspirators building up a formidable wall of evidence to disprove all of the GOP lies about January 6. 

The DOJ had two major victories in the war to tell the truth about what happened after Trump sent thousands of his goons to storm the Capitol.

First: Guy Reffitt, Texas militia member who was turned in by his own son, was found guilty on all five felony charges he faced for his part in the insurrection. This was the first jury trial for an insurrectionist, and a good sign that future such prosecutions won't go well for the rioters.

Second: The DOJ also revealed that it had formally charged Enrique Tarrio (his story follows this update) the then-leader of the neo-fascist Proud Boys, for conspiracy for his role in trying to stop the certification process. 

It's exciting to see people who tried to overthrow democracy face punishment, but these court proceedings are consequential outside of the feelings of satisfaction they provide. 

The Reffitt conviction and the Tarrio new charges contribute heavily to the public record that demonstrates, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that Republicans are lying when they minimize the events of January 6.

Those two things are contrary to what Trump apologists would have you believe that is was not a violent, armed, and organized insurrection.

And yes, it was Trump supporters who did it, not Antifa nor the FBI. 

My 2 Cents: As I said an excellent article on the hells of the Tarrio post (next below). If shows that the DOJ may appear to be slow, but I prefer to say they are thorough and precise to have airtight cases and more so as they get closer and closer to the big guy: Donald J. Trump.

Patience is the operative word here that the public needs to see.

Even so, diehard Trump sycophants will never accept the truth, the facts, and the real story. It is very depressing to see and hear so many people still today who accept and follow the “Big Lie.”

What a pitiful stain on our nation’s honor, dignity, and judicial reputation, isn’t it? But, justice is closing in and rightly so.

Thanks for stopping by.