HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle
Expand

Don’t Jail Trump for January 6

Views:992
@ReasonVids

As the latest testimony at the January 6 committee hearings makes clear, there is no doubt that former President Donald Trump is morally responsible for the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
---------
https://reason.com/?posttype=video&p=8194521

But there's a big difference between being morally responsible and being criminally liable, and anyone who thinks this is going to end with Trump being prosecuted for incitement, and then going to prison, desperately needs a reality check.

Eyewitness testimony from the January 6 hearings earlier this week does show that Trump wanted his supporters to march to the Capitol. "I will be making a Big Speech at 10AM on January 6th at the Ellipse (South of the White House)," he wrote in a draft tweet that was never sent "Please arrive early, massive crowds expected. March to the Capitol after. Stop the Steal!!"

On December 19, he tweeted: "​Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!"

During his actual speech just before the attack, Trump told his supporters to "fight like hell" and to march to the Capitol "peacefully and patriotically." Shortly after, the protests got out of hand, and some members of the crowd smashed the windows of the Capitol, pushed past police, and invaded the building.

It's fair to hold Trump responsible for that; if he had not stoked the mob's anger by falsely claiming, repeatedly, that Democrats were stealing the election from him, there would have been no riot.

But do Trump's actions meet the legal definition of incitement to violence? No.

Under federal law, incitement is defined as "urging or instigating other persons to riot." The landmark 1969 Supreme Court case Brandenburg v. Ohio established that speech must be both likely to incite "imminent lawless action" and "directed" at achieving that result.

Trump's words inspired lawless action but didn't specifically call on the mob to engage in it. Asking his supporters to march to the Capitol is protected by the First Amendment.

Now some media commentators have said that recent testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide, changes the equation: She said under oath that Trump knew that some of the protesters were armed with weapons, and didn't seem to care.

But that isn't legally relevant. People don't lose their First and Second Amendment rights just because they're exercising them at the same time.

We should be glad that these rights are protected by the Constitution. You may not like Trump. Personally, I think he's unfit for office. But we don't want to live in a country where people can be sent to jail because they said the wrong thing. Everybody benefits from a legal regime in which the rights to speak, to protest, and to be armed are vigorously protected.

So let's not send Trump to jail. Let's just never send him back to the White House.

Written and produced by Robby Soave; edited by Regan Taylor.

libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
    Thumbnail for Great Moments in Unintended Consequences (Vol. 8)2:33
    Great Moments in Unintended Consequences (Vol. 8)
    ReasonVids
    976 views
    Thumbnail for Stossel: Trump's Steel Tariffs Will Hurt Americans4:34
    Stossel: Trump's Steel Tariffs Will Hurt Americans
    ReasonVids
    977 views
    Thumbnail for The Whitest Kids U'Know Season 1 Episode 721:52
    The Whitest Kids U'Know Season 1 Episode 7
    wkuk.topic
    481 views
    Thumbnail for Watch your step!0:11
    Watch your step!
    voatcatbox
    374 views
    Thumbnail for Gymnastics mic drop0:10
    Gymnastics mic drop
    voatcatbox
    1378 views
    Thumbnail for Take What You Need0:18
    Take What You Need
    AOUisgay
    463 views
    Thumbnail for Stossel: The Best Part of the Constitution2:40
    Stossel: The Best Part of the Constitution
    ReasonVids
    880 views
    Thumbnail for The Whitest Kids U'Know Season 2 Episode 122:15
    The Whitest Kids U'Know Season 2 Episode 1
    wkuk.topic
    474 views
    Thumbnail for Joel Klein on the NYC School System: America's "Most Complex Bureaucracy"5:19
    Joel Klein on the NYC School System: America's "Most Complex Bureaucracy"
    ReasonVids
    800 views
    Thumbnail for Joseph Goebbels: "The International jew is the mortar that holds the enemy coalition together"1:31
    Joseph Goebbels: "The International jew is the mortar that holds the enemy coalition together"
    AOUisgay
    531 views
    Thumbnail for Omaha Freeway Nigger5:07
    Omaha Freeway Nigger
    voatcatbox
    698 views
    Thumbnail for Rigged coin toss in Iowa - Disappearing from youtube0:16
    Rigged coin toss in Iowa - Disappearing from youtube
    koleslow
    2936 views
    Thumbnail for Anti-trans activist explains trans fanaticism 2:19
    Anti-trans activist explains trans fanaticism
    bestofvoatxyz
    538 views
    Thumbnail for Italy Goes To War With Pigs | PDS News Clips0:30
    Italy Goes To War With Pigs | PDS News Clips
    invidious
    318 views
    Thumbnail for Old ABC report about the dancing Israelis2:20
    Old ABC report about the dancing Israelis
    bestofvoatxyz
    642 views
    Thumbnail for Making Dry Ice from scratch | Hyperspace Pirate15:52
    Making Dry Ice from scratch | Hyperspace Pirate
    invidious
    423 views
    Thumbnail for 14日火曜日の準備集会について/ネトフリ版「阿修羅のごとく」について #阿修羅のごとく #向田邦子 | 菅野完2:11:06
    14日火曜日の準備集会について/ネトフリ版「阿修羅のごとく」について #阿修羅のごとく #向田邦子 | 菅野完
    invidious
    107 views
    Thumbnail for Cable management...you had one job.0:25
    Cable management...you had one job.
    AOU
    1275 views
    Thumbnail for Hunter Biden. 3 Days Clean. No Pants.1:39
    Hunter Biden. 3 Days Clean. No Pants.
    LibertyIsTheLaw
    21889 views
    Thumbnail for 🔴 Relaxing Zen Music 24/7, Stress Relief Music, Sleep Music, Meditation Music, Study, Calming Music | Yellow Brick Cinema - Relaxing Music1:00
    🔴 Relaxing Zen Music 24/7, Stress Relief Music, Sleep Music, Meditation Music, Study, Calming Music | Yellow Brick Cinema - Relaxing Music
    invidious
    381 views
    Thumbnail for California's Legal Weed Is So Heavily Taxed and Regulated That the Black Market Might Survive10:58
    California's Legal Weed Is So Heavily Taxed and Regulated That the Black Market Might Survive
    ReasonVids
    1052 views
    Thumbnail for Why Gay Marriage is Winning2:29
    Why Gay Marriage is Winning
    ReasonVids
    914 views
    Thumbnail for Just another smooth operator0:10
    Just another smooth operator
    bestofvoatxyz
    2635 views
    Thumbnail for The Tavistock Institute: Destroying The World One Lie At A Time | HelioWave28:06
    The Tavistock Institute: Destroying The World One Lie At A Time | HelioWave
    bestofvoatxyz
    696 views
    Thumbnail for when your squad has ??? names 😱 | Loserfruit0:33
    when your squad has ??? names 😱 | Loserfruit
    invidious
    256 views

points

Permalink
Reply
libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle