Sunday, January 8, 2023

The January 6th protesters were treated as enemies of the state by the so-called Department of Justice, the Kavanaugh protesters not so much

 In it Medvin lays out in detail what she illustrates as the hypocrisy of the government’s approach to punishing (or not punishing) protesters opposing the nomination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. Protesters entering the Capitol were charged under local D.C. statutes as opposed to federal ones.

Medvin cites a tweet from the Women’s March Twitter account during that protest. “Hundreds of people are being trained for today’s #CancelKavanaugh action every 30 minutes this morning. We’re going to flood the Capitol.” Crisis Magazine tweeted later that day: “@womensmarch just took the Capitol. Women, survivors, and allies walked straight past the police, climbed over barricades, and sat down on the Capitol steps.” Others did make it inside the building, into the gallery, disrupting Senate proceedings. They were charged with “Crowding, Obstructing, or Incommoding,” under the local D.C. code.

Medvin points out that only one of the Kavanaugh protesters was charged under federal statutes and that person was ultimately not prosecuted. But even more importantly, in court papers from that case, it states, “Notably, no other person charged with protest and/or disruptive-type behavior at the U.S. Capitol Grounds has been previously charged in federal court for the District of Columbia.”

More.