US Capitol riot judges step up as the conscience of democracy while lawmakers squabble
(CNN)A "disgrace to our country." "The tyranny we rejected." "An embarrassment to every American."
In presiding over the cases of hundreds of people accused of breaching the US Capitol on January 6 in support of then-President Donald Trump, federal judges have not held back when describing the unprecedented nature of the events of that day.
"You called yourself and everyone else patriots, but that's not patriotism," Judge Amy Berman Jackson told defendant Karl Dresch earlier this month. "Patriotism is loyalty to country, loyalty to the Constitution -- not loyalty to a head of state. That is the tyranny we rejected on July Fourth."
As the congressional investigations grow more partisan -- and Democratic and Republican viewpoints on the significance of the Capitol attack grow farther apart -- it's notable that judges appointed by presidents of both parties have described the riot as an existential danger to American democracy.
"It means that it will be harder today than it was seven months ago for the United States and our diplomats to convince other nations to pursue democracy," Judge Randolph Moss said at a July 19 sentencing hearing. "It means that it will be harder for all of us to convince our children and our grandchildren that democracy stands as the immutable foundation of this nation. It means that we are now all fearful about the next attack in a way that we never were."
https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/13/politics/judges-riot-court-describe-january-6-chilling-disgrace-tyranny/index.html
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