• US Marshals Blocked From Investigating Alleged Deplorable Jail Conditions of Jan. 6 Defendants

• The Tyrannical Treatment of Jan. 6 Prisoners Is a Threat to Our Democracy 

• This jail in US capital is so filthy, authorities are planning to move 400 inmates

Months of imprisonment in the District of Columbia Jail, built in 1872. No bail allowed for nonviolent offenses. Many in solitary confinement, normally a punishment for disorderly prisoners, but here an unconstitutional form of cruel and unusual punishment that pushes some to thoughts of suicide. Constitutional guarantee of speedy trial a bad joke.

And for what? The Jan. 6 Capitol incursion. Was it an insurrection? If so it was a poor one, lasting only 3 or 4 hours and unarmed. Was it trespassing? Not if some Capitol Police ushered some demonstrators in and took selfies with them. Was it a riot? In practical terms yes, but not legally. In all this time, no one has shown a video of officers announcing an unlawful assembly, which is a requirement for an accusation of rioting ever since the British Riot Act of 1714.

If these are “domestic terrorists,” we have little to fear, because they were almost totally ineffectual. But on second thought, we have much to fear. Bureaucrats can order citizens to be held for months in pretrial detention, in filthy cells with backed-up toilets and mold, while guards withhold food and water as punishment, and even US Marshals are denied the ability to inspect the entire place.

Who has the power to deny US Marshals entry into federal property? Good question. If we can answer that, we will know who is in charge of our nation. It surely isn’t Joe Biden.