Debate on not charging some of the Capitol rioters

[Thinker101]

Federal law enforcement officials are privately debating whether they should decline to charge some of the individuals who stormed the U.S. Capitol.

Justice Department officials have promised a relentless effort to identify and arrest those who stormed the Capitol that day, but internally there is robust back-and-forth about whether charging them all is the best course of action.

Boy howdy, doesn't this sound interesting? Sounds like a dog and pony show.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...0cf112-5d97-11eb-8bcf-3877871c819d_story.html

 

[Moonglow]

Paywall, can't read which means your statements can't be proven which makes this an unclean thread..

 

[toobfreak]

Federal law enforcement officials are privately debating whether they should decline to charge some of the individuals who stormed the U.S. Capitol.

Justice Department officials have promised a relentless effort to identify and arrest those who stormed the Capitol that day, but internally there is robust back-and-forth about whether charging them all is the best course of action.

Boy howdy, doesn't this sound interesting? Sounds like a dog and pony show.

Where are all the convictions of these people for trying to overthrow democracy and attack on America? Insurrection! Treason! Have they found out no such thing happened, it was all a lie, that 25,000 troops was just a shitshow or that the worst were tied to the Democrats?

Joe Biden is not the lawful POTUS. Our real president sits at home illegally deposed in Florida being impeached for trying to restore law and order.

 

[toobfreak]

Paywall, can't read which means your statements can't be proven which makes this an unclean thread..

No paywall. The rubber band in your computer needs changed.

 

[Hollie]

Federal law enforcement officials are privately debating whether they should decline to charge some of the individuals who stormed the U.S. Capitol.

Justice Department officials have promised a relentless effort to identify and arrest those who stormed the Capitol that day, but internally there is robust back-and-forth about whether charging them all is the best course of action.

Boy howdy, doesn't this sound interesting? Sounds like a dog and pony show.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...0cf112-5d97-11eb-8bcf-3877871c819d_story.html

I suspect there is some consideration being given to the bad press that could result. With the rabid Dems excusing the past summer riots and property damage, and, with however-you-pronounce-it Harris promoting the 'unrest', the dem fascists refusing to prosecute their heroes would be a difficult issue to sidestep.

 

[Jim H - VA USA]

Paywall, can't read which means your statements can't be proven which makes this an unclean thread..

[Posted in accordance with 17 U.S. Code § 107 (Fair Use - 17 U.S. Code § 107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use )... ]

Rioters clash with police outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC on Wednesday, January 6, 2021. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/For The Washington Post)
By
Devlin Barrett and
Spencer S. Hsu
Jan. 23, 2021 at 6:21 p.m. UTC
Federal law enforcement officials are privately debating whether they should decline to charge some of the individuals who stormed the U.S. Capitol this month — a politically loaded proposition but one alert to the practical concern that hundreds of such cases could swamp the local courthouse.

The internal discussions are in their early stages, and no decisions have been reached about whether to forgo charging some of those who illegally entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, according to multiple people familiar with the discussions.
Justice Department officials have promised a relentless effort to identify and arrest those who stormed the Capitol that day, but internally there is robust back-and-forth about whether charging them all is the best course of action. That debate comes at a time when officials are keenly sensitive that the credibility of the Justice Department and the FBI are at stake in such decisions, given the apparent security and intelligence failures that preceded the riot, these people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss legal deliberations.
Trump entertained plan to install an attorney general who would help him pursue baseless election fraud claims
Federal officials estimate that roughly 800 people surged into the building, though they caution that such numbers are imprecise, and the real figure could be 100 people or more in either direction.



Among those roughly 800 people, FBI agents and prosecutors have so far seen a broad mix of behavior — from people dressed for military battle, moving in formation, to wanton vandalism, to simply going with the crowd into the building.
FBI report warned of ‘war’ day before Capitol riot
Due to the wide variety of behavior, some federal officials have argued internally that those people who are known only to have committed unlawful entry — and were not engaged in violent, threatening or destructive behavior — should not be charged, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Other agents and prosecutors have pushed back against that suggestion, arguing that it is important to send a forceful message that the kind of political violence and mayhem on display Jan. 6 needs to be punished to the full extent of the law, so as to discourage similar conduct in the future.


There are a host of other factors complicating the discussions, many of which center not around the politics of the riot, but the real-world work of investigators and prosecutors, these people said.
The Justice Department has already charged more than 135 individuals with committing crimes in or around the Capitol building, and many more are expected to be charged in the coming weeks and months. By mid-January, the FBI had already received more than 200,000 tips from the public about the riot, in addition to news footage and police officer testimony.
The primary objective for authorities is to determine which individuals, if any, planned, orchestrated or directed the violence. To that end, the FBI has already found worrying linkages within such extremist groups as the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and Three Percenters, and is looking to see if those groups coordinated with each other to storm the building, according to people familiar with the investigation.


Prosecutors have signaled they are looking to bring charges of seditious conspiracy against anyone who planned and carried out violence aimed at the government — a charge that carries a maximum possible prison sentence of 20 years.
Evidence builds against self-styled militia members
But even as Justice Department officials look to bring those types of cases, they privately acknowledge those more determined and dangerous individuals may have operated within a broader sea of people who rushed through the doors but didn’t do much else, and prosecutors will ultimately have to decide if all of those lesser offenders should be charged.
Officials insisted they are not under pressure in regards to timing of decisions about how to handle those type of cases. For one thing, investigators are still gathering evidence, and agents could easily turn up additional photos or online postings that show a person they initially believed was harmless had, in fact, encouraged or engaged in other crimes.


Investigators also expect that some of those charged in the riot will eventually cooperate and provide evidence against others, and that could change their understanding of what certain people said or did that day, these people said.
Nevertheless, these people said, some in federal law enforcement are concerned that charging people solely with unlawful entry, when they are not known to have committed any other bad acts, could lead to losses if they go to trial.
“If an old man says all he did was walk in and no one tried to stop him, and he walked out and no one tried to stop him, and that’s all we know about what he did, that’s a case we may not win,” one official said.

Another official noted most of those arrested so far have no criminal records.
Meanwhile, defense lawyers for some of those charged are contemplating something akin to a “Trump defense” — that the president or other authority figures gave them permission or invited them to commit an otherwise illegal act.

“If you think of yourself as a soldier doing the bidding of the commander in chief, you don’t try to hide your actions. You assume you will be held up as a hero by the nation,” criminal defense lawyers Teri Kanefield and Mark Reichel wrote last week.
Such a defense might not forestall charges but could be effective at trial or sentencing. Trump’s looming impeachment trial in the Senate will also focus further attention on his actions and raise questions about the culpability of followers for the misinformation spread by leaders around bogus election-fraud claims rejected by courts and state voting officials.

“It’s not a like a bunch of people gathered on their own and decided to do this, it’s not like a mob. It’s people who were asked to come by the president, encouraged to come by the president, and encouraged to do what they did by the president and a number of others,” said one attorney representing defendants charged in the breach who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss legal strategy.

Prosecutors have other options. For rioters with no previous criminal records or convictions and whose known behavior inside the Capitol was not violent or destructive, the government could enter into deferred plea agreements, a diversion program akin to pretrial probation in which prosecutors agree to drop charges if a defendant commits no offenses over a certain time period.
Such a resolution would not result in even a misdemeanor conviction, and has been used before in some cases involving individuals with a history of mental illness who were arrested for jumping the White House fence. Criminal defense attorneys note there may be further distinctions between individuals who may have witnessed illegal activity or otherwise had reason to know they were entering a restricted area, and those for whom prosecutors can’t show such awareness.

There is also a question over whether charging all of the rioters could swamp the federal court system. In 2019, D.C. federal courts recorded only about 430 criminal cases, and fewer than 300 last year, when the legal system slowed significantly due to the pandemic. Many of those cases, however, had multiple defendants.

The workload of prosecuting the rioters could be eased if some of the cases were farmed out to other U.S. attorney offices around the country, but so far D.C. prosecutors have shown no interest in doing so. The law generally requires that individuals be prosecuted in the district in which a crime occurred.
“The crime happened here. Prosecutors and judges can see the crime scene from their office windows. I find it strange anyone would suggest it be done anywhere else,” a person familiar with the investigation said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an internal debate.
Beyond all the evidence-gathering and charging decisions left to do, federal officials concede there will likely be some number of people who were there that day and are simply never identified, due to some combination of luck, masks or lack of social media posts.


Carol D. Leonnig contributed to this report.

 

[Thinker101]

Federal law enforcement officials are privately debating whether they should decline to charge some of the individuals who stormed the U.S. Capitol.

Justice Department officials have promised a relentless effort to identify and arrest those who stormed the Capitol that day, but internally there is robust back-and-forth about whether charging them all is the best course of action.

Boy howdy, doesn't this sound interesting? Sounds like a dog and pony show.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...0cf112-5d97-11eb-8bcf-3877871c819d_story.html

I suspect there is some consideration being given to the bad press that could result. With the rabid Dems excusing the past summer riots and property damage, and, with however-you-pronounce-it Harris promoting the 'unrest', the dem fascists refusing to prosecute their heroes would be a difficult issue to sidestep.

Pretty sad when law enforcement is more concerned about bad press than upholding law.

 

[occupied]

Looks like the "upstanding" citizens who disgraced America at the capital have some friends. If they go soft on this the right will do this every election from now on until they actually overthrow the government.

 

[Moonglow]

Federal law enforcement officials are privately debating whether they should decline to charge some of the individuals who stormed the U.S. Capitol.

Justice Department officials have promised a relentless effort to identify and arrest those who stormed the Capitol that day, but internally there is robust back-and-forth about whether charging them all is the best course of action.

Boy howdy, doesn't this sound interesting? Sounds like a dog and pony show.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...0cf112-5d97-11eb-8bcf-3877871c819d_story.html

I suspect there is some consideration being given to the bad press that could result. With the rabid Dems excusing the past summer riots and property damage, and, with however-you-pronounce-it Harris promoting the 'unrest', the dem fascists refusing to prosecute their heroes would be a difficult issue to sidestep.

Pretty sad when law enforcement is more concerned about bad press than upholding law.

I doubt it is bad press and more about case load...

 

[Moonglow]

Looks like the "upstanding" citizens who disgraced America at the capital have some friends. If they go soft on this the right will do this every election from now on until they actually overthrow the government.

Yet, if they execute them the leaders will be called tyrants, you just can't win...

 

[Thinker101]

Federal law enforcement officials are privately debating whether they should decline to charge some of the individuals who stormed the U.S. Capitol.

Justice Department officials have promised a relentless effort to identify and arrest those who stormed the Capitol that day, but internally there is robust back-and-forth about whether charging them all is the best course of action.

Boy howdy, doesn't this sound interesting? Sounds like a dog and pony show.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...0cf112-5d97-11eb-8bcf-3877871c819d_story.html

I suspect there is some consideration being given to the bad press that could result. With the rabid Dems excusing the past summer riots and property damage, and, with however-you-pronounce-it Harris promoting the 'unrest', the dem fascists refusing to prosecute their heroes would be a difficult issue to sidestep.

Pretty sad when law enforcement is more concerned about bad press than upholding law.

I doubt it is bad press and more about case load...

So the "treason" and "overthrow the government" take a backseat because they have more important things to do? Or is it all those loons claiming it was treason and an attempt to overthrow the government just BSing us.

 

[Moonglow]

Federal law enforcement officials are privately debating whether they should decline to charge some of the individuals who stormed the U.S. Capitol.

Justice Department officials have promised a relentless effort to identify and arrest those who stormed the Capitol that day, but internally there is robust back-and-forth about whether charging them all is the best course of action.

Boy howdy, doesn't this sound interesting? Sounds like a dog and pony show.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...0cf112-5d97-11eb-8bcf-3877871c819d_story.html

I suspect there is some consideration being given to the bad press that could result. With the rabid Dems excusing the past summer riots and property damage, and, with however-you-pronounce-it Harris promoting the 'unrest', the dem fascists refusing to prosecute their heroes would be a difficult issue to sidestep.

Pretty sad when law enforcement is more concerned about bad press than upholding law.

I doubt it is bad press and more about case load...

So the "treason" and "overthrow the government" take a backseat because they have more important things to do? Or is it all those loons claiming it was treason and an attempt to overthrow the government just BSing us.

Many are turning on Trump and his cadre of malevolent serpents who ran the show and they are the most important ones in my mind.

 

[toobfreak]

Really? Why do you lie so much, does it make you feel swell to try to dissuade through perversion of truth?

SHUT UP idiot, I should have known you were technologically challenged. Here, I am feeling generous today.

 

[occupied]

Looks like the "upstanding" citizens who disgraced America at the capital have some friends. If they go soft on this the right will do this every election from now on until they actually overthrow the government.

Yet, if they execute them the leaders will be called tyrants, you just can't win...

There has to be heavy price to pay for what they did, especially for the ones who assaulted police and entered chambers and offices. Can't let that kind of thing slide.

 

[Moonglow]

Really? Why do you lie so much, does it make you feel swell to try to dissuade through perversion of truth?

SHUT UP idiot, I should have known you were technologically challenged. Here, I am feeling generous today.


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Thanks for the laughs, you lying and Trumpet's turning on Trump and on Qanon. I do hope they have learned their lesson and will not be suckers for another flim-flam man in the future.

 

[toobfreak]

Really? Why do you lie so much, does it make you feel swell to try to dissuade through perversion of truth?

SHUT UP idiot, I should have known you were technologically challenged. Here, I am feeling generous today.


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Thanks for the laughs, you lying and Trumpet's turning on Trump and on Qanon. I do hope they have learned their lesson and will not be suckers for another flim-flam man in the future.

You're welcome, A-hole.

 

[Turtlesoup]

Federal law enforcement officials are privately debating whether they should decline to charge some of the individuals who stormed the U.S. Capitol.

Justice Department officials have promised a relentless effort to identify and arrest those who stormed the Capitol that day, but internally there is robust back-and-forth about whether charging them all is the best course of action.

Boy howdy, doesn't this sound interesting? Sounds like a dog and pony show.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...0cf112-5d97-11eb-8bcf-3877871c819d_story.html

Equal protection and equal application of the law will not be made under Biden...

 

[Foreigner Looking In.]

Defending the Constitution and stopping the usurpation of the 14th Amendment is not treason.
Fighting for Fair Elections and Free Speech is not treason.

 

[Thinker101]

Federal law enforcement officials are privately debating whether they should decline to charge some of the individuals who stormed the U.S. Capitol.

Justice Department officials have promised a relentless effort to identify and arrest those who stormed the Capitol that day, but internally there is robust back-and-forth about whether charging them all is the best course of action.

Boy howdy, doesn't this sound interesting? Sounds like a dog and pony show.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...0cf112-5d97-11eb-8bcf-3877871c819d_story.html

I suspect there is some consideration being given to the bad press that could result. With the rabid Dems excusing the past summer riots and property damage, and, with however-you-pronounce-it Harris promoting the 'unrest', the dem fascists refusing to prosecute their heroes would be a difficult issue to sidestep.

Pretty sad when law enforcement is more concerned about bad press than upholding law.

I doubt it is bad press and more about case load...

So the "treason" and "overthrow the government" take a backseat because they have more important things to do? Or is it all those loons claiming it was treason and an attempt to overthrow the government just BSing us.

Many are turning on Trump and his cadre of malevolent serpents who ran the show and they are the most important ones in my mind.

Dang, I'm shocked you have anything in your mind.