Question: How do you convict Jan. 6 Capitol mob of trespassing, much less of insurrection, when video surfaces of Capitol Police inviting some in and talking to them in a friendly manner?

To convict people of trespassing, you need to show that they entered your property against your wishes, or at least without your permission. Inviting some of them to enter, and talking to them in a friendly manner after they entered, makes such a conviction questionable at best.

To convict people of rioting, you need to show that police announced the assembly was unlawful and ordered them to disperse. As far as we know, this was not done.

To justify killing a person, you need to show that the person posed an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury to another. Ashli Babbitt was unarmed, posed a threat to no one, and was attempting to climb through the broken glass of an interior door – which someone else apparently had broken. If you shot someone like that, you would be charged with manslaughter at the least. But no charges will be filed against the unknown police officer who shot Ashli.

The most these people should be convicted of is vandalism and destruction of property, if you could identify those who actually destroyed property. Of course, given the state of our legal system, “should” has little meaning.

The Jan. 6 Capitol affair was a stupid blunder. But if it was a crime, which crime?

Video shocker! Capitol Police ‘allowed’ some rioters to enter