Incitement, sedition, and conspiracy – explaining Capitol crimes – By Henry Gass (CS Monitor) / January 15 2021
The legal fallout from the Jan. 6 Capitol invasion is likely to reach hundreds of cases. It could also affect the free speech rights of Americans and shatter one last political norm.
The United States is in the middle of its most turbulent transition of governments in over a century.
On Jan. 6 hundreds of rioters invaded the U.S. Capitol, disrupting the constitutionally mandated counting of electoral votes by Congress and resulting in five deaths. Federal law enforcement has warned of potential violent demonstrations at every state capitol ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration next week.
The immediate political consequences could soon be resolved – though the aftershocks will linger. The House of Representatives this week, in a bipartisan vote, impeached President Donald Trump for a historic second time for “incitement of insurrection.” Next comes a trial in the Senate.
The legal consequences, however, may not be known for months.
Criminal investigations into the Capitol invasion are underway both federally and locally, and the significance of these investigations should not be underestimated, says Joyce Vance, a former U.S. attorney who teaches at the University of Alabama School of Law.
