The Enemy Within

By Geoff Carter

Four of the participating terrorists in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing were sentenced to life in prison. After bombing The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 2005, Timothy McVeigh was sentenced to death. In 2010, for his role as mastermind in the 9/11 attacks, Osama Bin Liden was summarily executed by a team of Navy Seals. No one thought he deserved a trial. America, it would seem, has a long and storied tradition of punishing terrorists to the full extent—and sometimes overextent—of the law. That is, until recently.

Riley Williams, the young woman who allegedly stormed the Capitol Building and stole Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s laptop—and who then attempted to sell it to the Russians, was arrested, but has been released and is currently under house arrest with strict instructions not to use the internet. Jacob Chansley, aka Jake Angeli, the fur-clad and horn-wearing insurrectionist—and buffoon—better known as the QAnon Shaman, is currently in jail but has requested (and been granted) a special supply of organic food because of his shamanistic beliefs. His lawyer has also recently requested that since—for religious reasons—Chansley has refused to receive the Covid vaccine, he should be released because he is at higher risk of contracting the coronavirus. 

This hardly seems equitable. All of the above criminals engaged in terrorist activities. That fact is indisputable. Some of them have been tried, convicted, and are serving their sentences. In some cases, the perpetrators have been executed—sometimes summarily, with no trial.  But in the most recent instance of a terrorist act on American soil, suspected terrorists have only been placed under house arrest (an ironic penalty these days). 

As of last week, more than two hundred and fifty Capitol rioters have been arrested on charges ranging from trespassing, theft, and vandalism to conspiracy, possession of a dangerous weapon, and assault. According to an NPR examination of police data, eighteen percent of those charged had ties to extremist groups, fourteen percent had ties to military or police organizations, thirteen percent invoked Trump as the source of their actions, and seven percent were charged with conspiracy. Most of the insurrectionists were white males. Members of the far right-wing extremist groups The Proud Boys and The Oath Keepers were well-represented in the mob. Most have been arrested and charged. The only question remaining is what punishment will be meted out. This is a question, because, apparently, justice is no longer blind. 

During the Black Life Matters unrest during the summer of 2020 and the January 6^th riot, stark differences between the way Black and white protestors were treated was readily apparent. According to a January 9^th CNN article, police made nearly five times as many arrests during the height of the BLM protests in Washington, D.C. than they did during the storming of the Capitol.   

Of course, subsequent data has shown that Capitol and D.C. Police were badly outnumbered by the mob, but that only begs the question of why there was not a stronger police presence at the Capitol in the first place. As of this writing, there is an ongoing Senate investigation of the lack of police response during the insurrection, and while facts seem muddled, it looks as if there may have been deliberate actions taken by the Administration to stall National Guard response. While the FBI claims to have filed intelligence reports warning of possible violence at the Capitol, no one seems to have received them.

Not only were the Trump protestors not taken very seriously, but the insurrectionists themselves seemed to be blissfully clueless about the trouble they were walking into. Hundreds of rioters broke in and then videotaped themselves walking around in the Capitol, taking selfies (recording the very evidence that would implicate them in a plethora of criminal activities). The cluelessness was simply astounding. To break into and vandalize a revered public institution and then act as if they were walking through a theme park, these people would have to be either very stupid—or very sure that their actions were above the law. 

What consequences were these white insurrectionists expecting? It appears as if they thought their actions were legitimate—even sanctioned. Many of them—thirteen percent—maintain that they had been ordered to occupy the Capitol by Trump himself. Several members of the Capitol Police Force are under investigation for complicity with the rioters, as are several members of Congress for conducting tours of the Capitol Building (which had been strictly forbidden under quarantine laws) for constituents who were identified as members of the mob who stormed the Capitol the next day. These representatives are currently under investigation by the D.C. Attorney General’s Office. 

There is a strong link between law enforcement, the military, and white supremacist groups; that’s been established. Some Republicans are kowtowing to these elements in hopes of capturing Trump’s base. Ted Cruz, Hawley, and Ron Johnson still refuse to acknowledge that Joe Biden was fairly elected. That there is a strong undercurrent of white supremacist sentiment in the party cannot be dismissed.  Compare this picture of the stage at CPAC, the conservative convention, with an icon closely associated with the Nazi Party. 

There is no dispute that Riley Williams, Jacob Chansley, and hundreds of others stormed our Capitol and threatened the lives of our Vice-President and members of Congress. They came with weapons, a plan, and intent. They built gallows. They vandalized, they stole, they assaulted officers, and they killed. They are criminals. There is no disputing this. It’s on tape—their own streaming videos. 

So why aren’t they all in jail? Why are they getting organic food in prison? Why are these terrorists privileged? Why didn’t they cops take them seriously? The truth is, had these insurrectionists been people of color or different ethnicities or different religious beliefs, the Capitol—and our belief in our government—would still be whole. The problem starts here. 

These were terrorists. They are white. Let me repeat. These were terrorists. They are white. Let’s treat them as terrorists and criminals and thugs they are. Stop the privileges. Stop making excuses. Let justice do its work—for everyone.