This just came up on Morning Joe and it does feel like a good question.

[Nexus2]

Of the (currently) few that have been found or pleaded guilty and sentenced to attempting to violently interfere with a Constitutional process or Sedition which carries a potential sentence of 20 yrs being given such light sentences such as 2-3 yrs.

It fits in with the odd, slightly surreal way so many people are taking what happened so calmly. A hundreds strong mob stormed the capital, threatening to murder political official, apparently in public, because they didn't like how an election turned out, various 'issues' delayed meaningful response for hours, now the a number of politicians are acting like a cinematic slasher trying to 'calmly' distract the film's protagonist from the checking their crawlspace when it comes to digger any deeper into the events of Jan. 6th.

I suffer from the clinical depression and anxiety issues, so I tend to really question my reactions, but it really feels as if this is more of panic moment for the nation as a whole, but its being swept aside.

[MiHale]

1. Arresting the soldiers...keeping the head of the snake attached.

Soldiers are disposable items they can be and are being replaced with new recruits. Smash the head!

[jimfields33]

2. I didn't watch but I believe some are getting plea deals

Perhaps they are giving good info on some of the bigger “fish”. I’m sure that having 400 full trials would cost a fortune so accepting plea deals on some of the “lower criminal crimes” will allow the focus to be on the worst crimes.

[underpants]

3. There are levels of Fed prison but you still don't want to do 2 years

That may not sound like much but 2 years let alone 3 or 5 is a lot longer than you think it is. Also they will forever be a felon (if charges are as I think) which means no voting in some states and no gun purchases. They’ve actually taken away their own guns in a way.

[True Blue American]

4. 2 pled Guilty

So far.

What I enjoyed was the ad where Democrats are fighting back.. they are going after the lies and misinformation big time!

Lord, even Chris Mathews is back and they can not shut him up!

[gab13by13]

6. I saw him,

Tweedy wouldn't give Joy time to go to a commercial break. When he was on cable he took a long time to understand what was going on. He gets what's going on now. He is very articulate when he understands what is happening. We need more voices like his.

[True Blue American]

7. They need to bring him back.

He was smiling as Joe was bragging about what a great negotiator he was.

Like me, Chris remembers his rotten actions on Clinton and Monica. You could read Chris thoughts! Crossed his arms as Joe went on. Mika signaled for him to go back to Mathews.

[bottomofthehill]

5. I am ok with this.

14 months to 2 years is real jail time and it sets a low end on the plea deals. When other cases go to trial and get convictions, the time should go up from the plea bargain floor.
I want to see all of the people who were in the building on 1/6 get jail time and do not understand why they are all not being charged with disruption of Congress. The reason the House and Senate went into Recess is because the insurrectionists were inside the building. Every person who was inside should be charged with the Felony Disruption charge. Convict them, jail them and take away their guns to lessen their potential danger to society.

[obamanut2012]

14. Yup, and they are Federal felony convictions

[Quoph]

8. Except for the people who killed Sitnick, I don't think any of them did actions meriting 20 years

A vast majority of them screamed and yelled, carried stupid signs, trespassed on the Capitol, and possibly sat in some Senator’s chairs. I think anybody who’s serving 20 years in prison has done far worse than that.

[Delarage]

9. I disagree

Chanting "Hang Mike Pence" and looking to end democracy right there are pretty serious offenses. It's more than some trash sitting in Pelosi's chair "scratching his balls"---he may as well have set the Constitution on fire if his goal of 45 being installed were fulfilled. Fuck him and his fucking anti-American terrorist friends.

[obamanut2012]

15. That's nice

[ok_cpu]

16. Like a tour, right? n/t

[Rabrrrrrr]

17. Nope. Every one of them tried to overthrow the government.

They should all get maximum sentences.

Law and Order and all that.

If I'm part of a group that robs a bank, I don't get to avoid sentencing just because I didn't carry a gun in the heist.

[Lokee11]

25. +1 Gazillion

As far as I am concerned deaths occurred while they were wittingly or unwittingly trying to overthrow the government, which I assume everyone would agree is inherently and foreseeably dangerous to human life, and regardless, considering some literally stole objects from the capitol, a robbery factually took place in which they were ALL a part of and in which multiple people passed. So I say fuck them all! Charge every last one with Felony Murder or Buy a fucking rocket from Elon and just blast their asses to outer space and let them figure it out amongst themselves.





✊!

[Ferrets are Cool]

21. This is so wrong.

[doc03]

23. I disagree 20 years is not enough an example has

to made of them or in 2024 it will happen again. If I stormed the county court house with the intent of hanging a county commissioner I would be dead or get far more than 2 years.

[onlyadream]

26. But there was intent to do much worse.

If they got their hands on Pence, Pelosi, AOC, Romney... then what? Some (not all) had intent. In addition, the body cams of the DC officers show it was more than just signs and yelling. There was assault.

[bucolic_frolic]

10. Ya think they'd be this lenient in Myanmar? Or China?

Would the Medici, Bolsheviks, or Cromwell have been understanding and malleable?

A State that can't defend the State ain't much of a State. As it will soon learn.

[Wounded Bear]

19. If we're to become one of those countries, why not just let the insurgents win?

[bucolic_frolic]

20. General Washington didn't let his soldiers be snowflakes

Not to argue with your well-taken point, but the State does have to crack the whip a bit at some point.

[Lonestarblue]

11. I think former offenses should also be considered.

If you can give a black man a longer sentence for minor drug possession if it is a second offense, then why not the white men to committed acts of insurrection. Just breaching the Capitol as they did with the intent of stopping a legitimate government function was insurrection, a pretty serious offense and one far worse than having some marijuana in your car. A second offense for marijuana possession has a maximum sentence of two years. I consider the attack on the Capitol to be far worse and deserving of more than two years.

[Boomerproud]

12. K&R for OP

I frankly surprised at some of the replies.

[Maine Abu El Banat]

13. Let's trust the Prosecutors

Light sentences may mean these people are singing like the proverbial canary. If we can reconstruct the communications before Jan 6, it may yield some of the organizers.

[zaj]

18. You're fears are justified. It's been a panic moment for 4 years

In 2016 I was shocked that Putin could put Manafort in control of the Trump campaign and no one cared.

Since then it's been one existential crisis after another. And no one cared enough.

We did win the 2020 election, but it was a historic effort to barely survive.

Today, we are watching 250 years of American democracy dismantled right before our eyes. Even Dems who should know better don't seem to realize it. And the general public doesn't know or care.

It's a crisis. And there is no good answer.

[lookyhereyou]

27. sad but true

if we sweep it all under the rug

it won't be a normal we will want

to live with. build back better ,

including voting rights.

[Ford_Prefect]

22. Some days it can seem that we live in a Wonder Bread world with Ken n' Barbie reading the news.

Appearances can be deceiving and lately some objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.

The impression that the scale of the insurrection and the violence done are being minimized by the news and the legal process is one I agree with. While any minimal time in Federal jail and the effects on those it applies to are far from insignificant, they appear too little in contrast to the events on Jan 6th.

The worry I have is that the rapid changes in voting law at state level, the audit fraud, the attack on teaching factual history, and other actions taken by the GOP are being presented as grass-roots driven events just as the rally and assault on Congress were made to appear. As with any infantry assault the commanders were far from the field and were not seen on camera directing events on site. The News still repeats the impression that the crowd got overexcited and went a bit too far in their enthusiasm for the last guy as if that was a plausible reason for murder and mayhem.

[msfiddlestix]

24. That's exactly where I am....

Declarative comments made among some here say things like 'I'm confident that a coup could never happen here' or there will be no repeat of Jan 6th again', based on a number of ordinarily rational reasons.

But all of those rational reasons is what our commonly held faith in our system of governance would have prevented Jan 6th from happening. Or at the very least, responded immediately as the insurrection began to play out, particularly at the Capitol!!!!!

That isn't what happened. Nor would these insurrectionists been allowed to waltz away from the scene of the crime unfettered.

It's six months now, and it feels like yesterday. And worse, a number of prominent people here appear to be saying 'nothing to see' all is well, our democracy is in tact, and you people saying or thinking otherwise need to take a civics class.

What's going on the Senate and in a number of states, etc. isn't giving me any solace. So now I'm avoiding all news shows and not listening to the radio except occasionally classical music station. Unsubscribed from Sling, the source for msnbc shows I used to watch nearly everyday. No More.

I come here to skim the "Breaking News" headlines and GD to pick up on news gaps not posted in LBN. In the process of course I read OP's/discussions and sometimes I'm stunned when I read stuff mentioned above, with confidence and assurance.

Just blows my mind.

I'm really, really grateful I have my instruments and musician friends to practice and jam with. Fading out zoom sessions and doing in person now, and this is giving me the much needed joy, sanity and mental nourishment to get through the day.


Sometimes I feel like the fiddler on the roof, and other times I feel like the fiddlers on the Titanic. I have come to understand and empathize with the fiddlers on the Titanic, where as in the "Before Times" I used to think of them in a very harsh light.

[MrModerate]

28. People don't see the insurrectionists as hardened terrorists so much as dangerously deluded fools.

And 20 years is a long time for something that was foolish and dangerous, but didn't turn out any worse than it did.

I'm not saying this is perfect justice, but I think it aligns with people's feelings.