Opinion
By George Miller, 1-6-24
Today is the third anniversary of the January 6, 2021 protest in D.C. against the 2020 presidential election results reported and resultant Electoral College results reviewed by the US Senate, with VP Mike Pence presiding. It is now often referred to simply as “J6”
This was a historic election, with huge stakes and very different views, policies and agendas of the opposing candidates. Each side accused the other of election fraud.
From our observations in the news, testimony and videos released so far, about a million people assembled in Washington DC to protest what they believe were fraudulent election results. Many heard a speech that day by President Trump questioning the results but cautioning the People to peacefully protest. Most had seen claims and materials on alleged fraud, much of it very convincing.
Thousands of the million or so then went to the Capitol to continue their protest. Hundreds pushed their way through barricades or in some cases were encouraged to by police and shills, followed by some of the crowd to surround the Capitol. When they learned that some Senators had challenged the results, but most did not and that Pence didn’t either, the crowd got much more upset. At the time, I was covering a medium-sized protest in Southern California, similar to hundreds more around the nation. The crowd there got very angry, but there was zero violence.
A few hundred went inside the capitol building. Some were actually escorted around by Capitol Police, who acted like tour guides. Don’t believe me, it was on video and witnesses spoke up about it. A very few committed vandalism. There was some non-lethal violence by a few protesters. No members of Congress were directly threatened or harmed, although many were evacuated as a precautionary measure because officials were legitimately unsure what the motives of the protesters were. Then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi turned down Trump’s offer of 10,000 National Guard troops to help maintain order.
Five people died during or later, claimed as a result of the event. A protestor was shot and killed by Capitol police with very questionable justification. Four died due to health problems which may have been aggravated by the event. Government spokespersons and “Mainstream Media mostly repeatedly and falsely stated or implied that these people were killed by protesters, or rioters, or insurrectionists, as they preferred to label them. Capitol Police and federal forces fired tear gas and “non-lethal” projectiles at protesters outside the Capitol, in violation of policy, some causing serious injury.
Massive protests are a time-honored custom in the US. They have often resulted in real riots, assault, murder and massive property destruction. This was definitely not the case with J6. Yet the massive FBI investigation and “Justice” Department prosecutions are the largest in in US history, dwarfing the far more serious 911 and BLM events actions, where few were ever charged or prosecuted.
It took a change in control of Congress to get the Select Committee on January 6 members out and two changes of Speakers to get the agenda focused on what really happened leading up to and on January 6 events. The original Committee was literally a star chamber, consisting of 100% Trump-haters all determined to nail the protesters and Trump. Normal rules of prosecution and judiciary were ignored. Due process was ignored. Rules of evidence, discovery, cross-examination were ignored. The Committee cherry-picked only what they wanted to use to nail their opposition. With all Committee members being anti-Trump, no one was looking out for Trump or the protesters. The Media either ignored or buried most of this.
Meanwhile, over a thousand people have been arrested, imprisoned, often without bail, proper hearings, adequate right to counsel, medical care, exercise, recreation, under very poor conditions, some in solitary confinement without justification. Only a few members of Congress have forced their way in to visit the prisons and remark thusly, but have been mostly ignored. The Republicans in Congress and their party haven’t made any serious attempts to rectify this. It would be tough, as the Justice Dept reports directly to pResident Biden and has been seemingly weaponized for political purposes.
This isn’t nearly over. Hundreds still rot in prison, while the scope of investigations, arrests, indictments, prosecutions and wildly hyped up charges and sentences continue unabated. This is a modern day version of the Salem witch trials.
The leaking of event videos and then mass release of them finally ordered by Republicans, as they are being edited and heavily redacted, are revealing that the Select Committee committed fraud in how they selectively presented and interpreted the evidence. Shockingly, testimony, interview videos and other evidence have vanished since the original Committee members left. In a lawful government, people would have been arrested and charged for this.
There have been many exposes written about the election and its many flaws. The judiciary was in no mood to take the lawsuits and election exceptions seriously. However evidence gathered independently and by the five swing state election hearings points to massive fraud. Any exposure of the fraud is quickly labeled “misinformation” or “conspiracy theories” by the government, paid and unpaid “influencers,” the Progressive media and NGO’s, Democratic Party, faux rating organizations, various big tech and social media firms and portions of the government itself. It’s one of the biggest propaganda programs in history.
So, was it insurrection? Hell, no. There was no force used to stop the election, no officials were harmed or detained, there was no attempt to seize power, no significant destruction of property, except for temporary absence of Nancy Pelosi’s laptop and a few broken windows. If it was a real insurrection, some of the players had the capability to leave the Capitol a smoking ruin, if it had been their intention.
This is obviously about politics, disproportionate and illegal punishment and intimidation of the opposition, challenging even the thought that the election could have been rigged and serving as a frightening warning to any who may protest in the future. This is totalitarian, banana republic stuff.
In spite of all of this, former President and 2024 candidate Donald Trump’s rising popularity and lead in most polls reflects that much of the public isn’t buying all or even any of this and also their deep discontent with the policies/performance of the unpopular Biden/Harris administration and whomever is actually running it. This is why the opposition has now fallen back on attempting to remove him from the ballot, convict or discredit him in any way possible. Some politicians, Justice Department officials and media faces have said they will do whatever it takes to keep him out of the White House, which is chilling.
More Detail on Election Fraud
During and right after the 2020 election, I was working for another publication and wrote several articles describing the nature and scope of election fraud and undue influence, not too long after the most corrupt election in US. history. I didn’t yet have access to the results of all the unfolding investigations. Subsequent discoveries have only validated it even more. Here are some of them, describing the extraordinary scope and depth of alleged fraud and undue influence on the election:
Anatomy of an Election Steal
“Not a Shred of Evidence of Election Fraud” ….
Election Fraud Hearings Held in PA, AZ, MI …
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2021/01/our_leaders_have_betrayed_us.html
More On J6
Quite a bit has been written or produced about J6 injustices. You can search them out but they are outnumbered by pieces supporting the establishment narrative.
In Case You Wish to See the J-6 Videos
Real Story of January 6- Part 2
https://catherinesalgado.substack.com/p/never-forget-the-torture-of-the-jan?publication_id=373781
and of course, there’s this classic:
https://twitter <dot>com/i/status/1743674947992469858
Now let’s throw in a little contrasting opinion to make you LOL:
George Miller is Publisher and Co-Founder of Citizens Journal Florida, based in Fernandina Beach. He is a “retired” operations management consultant, software and publishing executive (10 years) and manufacturing management professional.
The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal Florida.