The true intent of the Capitol terrorists
Intent. It’s a meaningful word, even more so given the current political climate. Forget all the Republican cries of “unity.” That is bullsh*t and always will be. Their whole agenda is to disenfranchise the Democratics and dominate with their right-wing agenda. It’s their INTENT.
Now let’s go to the Capitol riots. The intent of the crowd was to illegally storm the Capitol and change the Constitutionally certified election by force. Perhaps it was to kidnap Congress; perhaps it was just for sh*ts and giggles. But the intent was to take over the Capitol, rip up the Constitution, and make it, even if very briefly, their own little autocracy. That was brutally clear.
Now let’s go to the Black Lives Matter protests. Their INTENT was to peacefully protest the fact that black lives matter ALSO. That some thugs looted and rampaged wasn’t the intent and will never be owned by the decent citizens who protested. Because intent matters.
Now the Republican talking point is BLM caused more destruction to lives and property than the Capitol riots. Doesn’t matter. There were many plane crashes before 9/11. None were comparable to those planes that went into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and that field in Pennsylvania.
We now have complainers asking for help with their legal fees after taking private planes from Texas to break into the Capitol. Um…no. These types need a decade in prison for insurrection. While they may not have legally thought out their actions beforehand, they are guilty, because their INTENT was insurrection.
There is the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. In the Capitol riots, the spirit of the law was insurrection. The guilty may feel they weren’t rioters burning down a Target, but their actions were so much worse. No comparison can ever be made to any other intended peaceful protest. What they don’t understand, but will in time, is the FBI understands their intent, and the courts will make it clear to them also.
TR Kenneth is the author of the thriller, A ROOM FULL OF NIGHT. You can read all about her at trkenneth.com and on Twitter