More than 500 Trumpist insurrectionists have been charged for crimes they committed on January 6 when they violently attacked the Capitol. Curiously, none so far have been charged with the seemingly most obvious one: sedition. From the Associated Press today:
"Plotted to block the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory: Check. Discussed bringing weapons into Washington to aid in the plan: Check. Succeeded with co-insurrectionists, if only temporarily, in stopping Congress from carrying out a vital constitutional duty: Check.
Accusations against Jan. 6 rioter Thomas Caldwell certainly seem to fit the charge of sedition as it’s generally understood — inciting revolt against the government. [snip]
But to date, neither Caldwell nor any of the other more than 500 defendants accused in the attack has been indicted for sedition or for the gravest of crimes a citizen can face, treason. And as an increasing number of lesser charges are filed and defendants plead guilty, those accusations may never be formally levied."
Initial statements from Federal prosecutors indicated that sedition charges were possible, if not probable, but the charge hasn't appeared on any court documents to date. Speculation is that the crime of sedition has been historically hard to make stick, as many of those charged in the past have used the First Amendment as a shield. Prosecutors are therefore going for the charges that they can definitely prove.
It seems that the charge of seditious conspiracy is appropriate against the groups where evidence shows that they organized and plotted to violently storm the Capitol and stop a Constitutional process, i.e., the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys, and others. There's recent, rather ironic precedent: the possibility of sedition charges were raised in a memo last summer by Trump's own Justice Department against Black Lives Matter protesters in Portland, OR:
"...the memo said the Justice Department believed the statute doesn’t require proof of a plot to overthrow the government and could also be used when a defendant tries to oppose the government’s authority by force." (our emphasis)
While it's important that each and every one of the Trumpist domestic terrorists that participated in the January 6 insurrection be charged with provable crimes, the perception that the charge of conspiracy to commit sedition is too open to interpretation shouldn't be an obstacle to at least charging the organizers and instigators at an appropriate point in the legal process.
(photo: Shay Horse / Nur Photo via Getty)
