If there was one singular lesson to be derived from the tragedy of the January 6 insurrection in the Capitol, it was that Donald Trump had no idea where the line was drawn. In his demented world, the crowds in the streets were all part of a large production number and he was a deranged Busby Berkeley, egging the crowd on to improvisational disaster.

But the disaster was not so much improvisational and that was noted in a court ruling this morning, where Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled that cop beater Jeffrey Sabol, who journeyed from Colorado to Washington, loaded for bear, was too much of a flight risk to be released prior to his trial. New Civil Rights Movement:

“He brought tactical gear, including a helmet, steel-toe boots, zip ties, a radio and an ear piece,” Sullivan said. “He later admitted to law enforcement that he had equipped himself with this gear because he anticipated encountering counter-protesters. … He also maintained, even days after the riot when he believed he was wanted by the FBI, that he had been “fighting tyranny in the D.C. Capitol.”

He continued: “The Court is ultimately unpersuaded by Mr. Sabol’s argument that he did not plan to commit violence or disrupt the electoral process on January 6, 2021, but rather was caught up in the “frenzy” that was created in part by then-President Trump’s, and his associates’, words and actions.” […]

“To be sure, to what extent President Trump’s words and actions led to the violent and shocking storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 is an important question, and one that could still have legal consequences for the former President and his prominent supporters,” Sullivan wrote, citing a civil lawsuit against the former president. “But President Trump’s culpability is not before this Court.”

He continued, noting that Trump’s own role in spurring the attack would not exonerate Sabol: To the extent Mr. Sabol raises this issue to suggest he has a complete defense to the criminal charges he faces based on President Trump ostensibly or actually giving the rioters permission to use violence to interfere with the peaceful transition of power, that argument fails for the reasons clearly and thoughtfully articulated by Chief Judge Howell … Indeed, “even if former President Trump in fact . . . ‘told the assembled rabble what they must do’ (i.e., attack the Capitol and disrupt the certification of the electoral vote count) and ‘ratified their actions,’ . . . he acted ‘beyond [his] power’ as President, . . . and his statements would not immunize defendants charged with offenses arising from the January 6 assault on the Capitol from criminal liability.”

Here are the portions of the court transcript which were flagged.

Two noteworthy things: one, the Capitol rioters, some of them at least, are going to stand trial and however those cases are resolved, more information about Trump’s role in inciting them and their prior planning will be revealed. Two, this will be a case of first impression, a former president facing legal consequences for inciting a riot at the Capitol, but make no mistake, because it hasn’t been adjudicated before does not mean that it won’t be.

And what about Rudy Giuliani, Mo Brooks and the others? They need to be tried as well.

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4 COMMENTS

  1. These little insurrection cosplayers better be damn grateful on easy they’re having it (of course, we all know that they’re not, but humor me a second). Leaving aside what cops would have done to them if they weren’t white (ie everything from fire hoses to drone strikes), folks on the losing side of a failed uprising don’t get this much consideration. The best they get is a show trial where they’re found guilty in advance. After that, it’s summary execution, possibly your entire family coming along on that ride, whether they were involved or not.

  2. Until Trump is behind bars, the law REMAINS just rules made by the rich for the poor. Since these bozos have forgotten the reason they, nor their children, will get polio, smallpox, or the measels,i.e., government ordered vaccinations, I guess natural selection will play out. Less idiots, more chance for homo sapiens to hang around.

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