As promised, here’s a follow-up on what to do in response to the egregious civil rights violations of the January 6 political prisoners.
Louis Gohmert of Texas, who along with fellow member of Congress Marjorie Taylor Greene finally got to see the facility where J6 prisoners are confined, has a fine opinion piece on his website, reprinted from The Epoch Times. It dates from November 4, the day they and their congressional staffs took “the tour” and spent an hour speaking personally with these prisoners.
https://gohmert.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=399970
This piece shames the government for ignoring their repeated requests and “refusing to allow oversight of their actions, which gives every appearance of a cover-up of wrongdoing.”
“Should ideology and abuse of power continue to drive this administration’s actions,” it continues, “the Rule of Law will cease to exist...By its [lack of transparency], the Biden administration is shredding the foundations of our legal system and the rights of the people’s representatives to protect them from government abuse.”
Gohmert agrees that at least some of the people being treated this way are essentially political prisoners. And if we allow it and let this nation finish its transformation into a banana republic, there will be nowhere else for liberty-loving Americans to turn.
According to an opinion piece in the Washington Times by criminal prosecutor and former U.S. Congressman Robert L. Livingston, almost 700 people in and near the Capitol that day were arrested and charged. Eventually, most of these were released or “had their cases disposed of in varying ways.” (I would add that some of them, even though they’re no longer behind bars, are currently under house arrest and have yet to go to court.) Reps. Greene and Gohmert met with about 40 who are still languishing in a dismal Washington DC corrections facility.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/nov/10/jan-6th-detainees-must-receive-due-process/
Livingston is “shocked” to hear of “prospective defendants who have been arrested and deprived of their livelihoods; confined in solitary confinement with little or no reasonable access to the outside world, their families or adequate legal counsel; and denied formal charges levied against them without bail and in contravention to the right to a speedy trial.” He said that he spoke with an employee at the federal Public Defender’s Office and learned “that they were not representing any of these folks.”
So-called “civil rights defenders” such as the ACLU are nowhere to be found. “Most of these people are at worst guilty of trespass or destruction of government property,” Livingston said. But for crying out loud, charge them, arraign them, and bring them to trial with counsel of their choice.”
“This atrocity must stop, and it must stop soon.”
We also came across a story from October 28 that reprints a letter from one of the detainees, Nathaniel DeGrave, who found himself in prison after apparently walking into the Capitol Building through open doors. His plea for help paints an especially bleak picture of the lives of these political prisoners in what he calls “DC’s Gitmo.”
To stay informed with the best reporting on January 6 --- particularly the emerging evidence suggesting the FBI was making sure there WAS an “insurrection” –- we recommend keeping up with the stories in National File. Here’s the latest.
The current administration would like us to forget about these people, except as a cautionary tale of what can happen to those who step out of line. But we won’t.
We can send cards and letters to the detainees, letting them know they’re not forgotten, especially over the Christmas season when they'll be separated from their families (again). We can donate to defense funds and “adopt” families. We can send messages to our legislators, especially the ones who’ve already stepped up, including Greene, Gohmert, Matt Gaetz, Paul Gosar, and Bob Good. Most importantly, as we move into the 2022 campaign season and look ahead to 2024, we can actively campaign to defeat Democrats and support those who want to clean house at the DOJ. This clean-out MUST happen, as you'll see if you go to the FBI website and discover there's nothing about, say, Antifa, but an obsession with January 6:
Be concerned about down-ballot races, too, and work to defeat those local candidates who want to defund police, release violent prisoners without bail, and weaponize law enforcement against so-called "domestic terrorists" (Trump supporters). Some of them are funded by groups such as Justice Democrats (who brought us AOC) and George Soros’ Open Society Foundation.
The Capitol Building should have been secure that day, with clearly-set boundaries that protesters should have respected. But, ultimately, it is the current administration and the Department of “Justice” that is responsible for the travesty of justice we see today. Under President Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland, we have as disgustingly politicized a DOJ as there has ever been. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi makes it three of a kind. This coming year, we all have to work harder than we ever have to elect people who respect a uniform standard of justice, even for political adversaries.
Permalink: https://www.mikehuckabee.com/2021/12/a-follow-up-how-to-help-january-6-political-prisoners
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