North Bay lawmakers worry about 2024 on third anniversary of Jan. 6 riot at US Capitol

On the third anniversary of Capitol riot, The Press Democrat spoke to the North Bay’s two lawmakers in Washington, D.C., and checked in on two locals charged with crimes for their role in the riot.

January 06, 2024

Three years ago, Northern California residents clustered around television sets or craned over smartphone screens, their horror mounting alongside most Americans as supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol in a violent effort to stop certification of the 2020 election.

The riot appeared, briefly, to spark a rare moment of national unity — the majority of Americans were aghast at the ferocity of the attack, in which five people died and more than 100 police officers were injured. Politicians of all stripes condemned the violence, and in many cases, condemned Trump for egging it on by falsely claiming the election was stolen.

That fragile unity did not hold.

Ahead of the third anniversary of the grim event, and amid increasing uncertainty over the peacefulness of the coming general election, The Press Democrat spoke to the North Bay’s two lawmakers in Washington, D.C., and checked in on two local men charged with crimes for their role in the riot.

“It was a tragic day for all Americans, those who realize it and those who don’t,“ Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, said in a phone interview Thursday.

Today, only 55% of American voters believe the riot at the Capitol three years ago represented “an attack on democracy that should never be forgotten,” according to polling results published this week by the Washington Post and University of Maryland.

While the majority of Democrats and independent voters answer that question affirmatively, most Republicans reject the idea. A full 70% of Republicans say the nation and its leaders have made too much of the attack and it’s time to move on.

Meanwhile only 14% of Republicans assign a “great deal” or “good amount” of responsibility to Trump for the riot, a number that has come tumbling down from 27% of Republicans in 2021.

North Coast Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, laid those striking statistics at the feet of right-wing politicians and media operations that have pushed falsehoods and conspiracies — such as myths that undercover federal agents or left-wing protesters were responsible.

“It’s shocking how the right-wing echo chamber has shaped this narrative … it’s almost as if they’ve written the insurrection out of history,” Huffman said in an interview.

Trump today is the front-runner for the Republican nomination this year. One of the four criminal cases pending against him stems from charges related to his actions tied to the Jan. 6 riot.

As the 2024 presidential election approaches, researchers and experts in political extremism worry further political violence is increasingly possible. Huffman and Thompson both cast the stakes of that election in stark terms.

“Our democracy is under attack, as evidenced by the attempt to stop the certification three years ago. That hasn’t gone away and we need to be incredibly mindful of that,” Thompson said.

Since the riot, more than 1,230 people have been charged with federal crimes — both misdemeanors and felonies — and tried in Washington, D.C., courts. Of that total, 730 people have pleaded guilty to charges, and an additional roughly 170 have been convicted either by a judge or a jury, according to the Associated Press.

Federal authorities continue to pursue charges against additional suspects.

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By:  Andrew Graham
Source: Press Democrat