Serowbot
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OK.... so what's the speed of dark?
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Tucson Az
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Let's start with the gun charges.
In April, 72-year-old Lonnie Coffman of Falkville, Alabama, was sentenced to four years in prison for bringing loaded guns, ammunition and Molotov cocktail ingredients to Washington on Jan. 6.
The weapons were found in his truck—parked less than half a mile from the Capitol building—which he left to attend a rally at the National Mall. A statement by the Department of Justice said Coffman "also carried a loaded handgun and a loaded revolver as he walked around the area that day."
In March 2022, 49-year-old Texan Guy Reffitt, was convicted (among other charges) for being unlawfully present on Capitol grounds while possessing a firearm and transporting firearms during civil disorder.
A Department of Justice indictment from January 2021 also states that Christopher Alberts, Maryland, was found carrying a Taurus G2C semi-automatic handgun on Capitol grounds on January 6.
Off-duty Drug Enforcement Administration agent Mark Sami Ibrahim, 32, was also indicted by a grand jury for bringing a firearm within the United States Capitol and its grounds.
In an article for Newsweek, Nick Suplina and Justin Wagner of Everytown for Gun Safety said they had identified "12 individuals allegedly tied to the events of Jan. 6 who were arrested in Washington, D.C., and charged with firearms offenses."
A U.S. Capitol Police intelligence division report also found posts on now defunct blog thedonald.win in the lead-up to Jan. 6, which, the report said, contained "several comments [that] promote confronting members of Congress and carrying firearms during the protest."
Further comments on the site included "Bring guns. It's now or never" and "Don't cuck out. This is do or die. Bring your guns."
But while there is clear evidence showing that firearms were indeed brought into the January 6 march, the underlying claim itself is somewhat of a red herring, because it implies that possession of firearms is somehow a condition for an insurrection.
American politics expert Professor Angelia Wilson of the University of Manchester, told Newsweek that insurrection is an act of violent resistance against a civil authority or government, that may involve any weapon or hand-to-hand combat.
"On January 6th, the act of using a crowd-control railing to hit those charged with defending the Capitol building is an act of insurrection," Wilson said.
"Had the protesters reached Vice President Pence, it would not have mattered if they used a gun or a noose, attacking the Vice-President is an act of insurrection.
"There is no doubt that protesters who violently attacked those defending the Capitol on January 6th were committing acts of insurrection."
On this count, there is also plenty of evidence that protesters were carrying other weapons and acted violently towards authorities.
Among the more than 800 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 riot, more than 85 have been accused of using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.
There were also the reports of pipe bombs found near the Capitol before January 6, though the investigation into who was behind them is still ongoing.
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