Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is still pushing for targeted action against Donald Trump over what took place on January 6, when in 2021 a mob of the then-outgoing president’s supporters stormed the Capitol complex in an openly murderous rage over the outcome of the then-recently concluded presidential race.
Members of Congress eventually reconvened to finish the process of certifying the election’s outcome following disruption from rioters, but even then, Republican allies of Trump’s in both the House and Senate clamored against the certification of all the electoral votes Biden won, despite a lack of real-world evidence suggesting systematic fraud or misconduct.
On that front, reforms have since been implemented dramatically raising the number of Representatives and Senators who would need to back an objection to electoral votes before the matter moves to debate and a vote, but Trump has been largely unequivocal in standing by what happened. He also supports participants in the attack on the Capitol. Recently, he welcomed someone who’d joined that violence during a campaign swing through New Hampshire, offering encouraging words. He’s also repeatedly pushed for releasing riot participants from custody.
“The guilty verdicts in the Proud Boys’ January 6th seditious conspiracy trial are an important step towards justice,” Schiff said. “But the Department of Justice must also hold those who fomented the insurrection accountable, not just those who stormed the gates. The rule of law must prevail.” Concluding this week, that trial was just the latest stemming from the riot to include those allegations. This time, former national leader of the Proud Boys Enrique Tarrio was among those convicted of seditious conspiracy. Others accused of the act have included members of the far-right group the Oath Keepers. In outlining his defenses of the rioters, Trump has largely made no distinction among charges, meaning he’s lumped those accused of violence and sedition with the rest in his pushes for leniency. What he in reality is seeking is a subversion of the judicial system that generally binds all Americans.
The guilty verdicts in the Proud Boys' January 6th seditious conspiracy trial are an important step towards justice.
But the Department of Justice must also hold those who fomented the insurrection accountable, not just those who stormed the gates.
The rule of law must prevail.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) May 4, 2023
