THE GOP IS MORE UNHINGED THAN EVER

Jacob Chansley — the most memorable figure in the Jan. 6 violent insurrection, and certainly the most bizarre given his painted face and horned cap — received 41 months in prison on Wednesday plus a $2,000 fine for obstructing the congressional certification.

In a direct rebuke to former president Donald Trump and his apologists, U.S. Attorney Kimberly Paschall made clear at the hearing that Chansley was no peaceful protester. He stormed the Capitol, confronted police, entered the building through a broken window, charged to the dais in the Senate chamber, shouted a vulgar threat (“time’s up, motherf——-s!”) and left a threatening message for Vice President Mike Pence (“It’s only a matter of time. Justice is coming!”).

As Paschall argued in her sentencing memo, “The government cannot overstate the seriousness of the defendant’s conduct as a one [sic] of the most prominent figures of the historic riot on the Capitol on January 6, 2021… . The defendant’s consistent argument throughout this case that his actions on that day were peaceful is undermined by the evidence submitted to this Court, but demonstrative of a persistent mindset that could lead the defendant to commit similar acts again.”

She might have said the same of the person who inspired the attack: Trump. If Chansley was “quite literally, their flagbearer,” Trump had beaten the drum for weeks, spread the “big lie” about a stolen election, demanded his followers “stop the steal” (at the moment Congress was assembled to certify electoral college ballots), and then refused to come to the rescue of lawmakers and the vice president after protesters stormed the building.

As Paschall notes, “What should have been a day in which Congress fulfilled its solemn, constitutional duty in certifying the vote count of the Electoral College, ensuring the peaceful transition of power in our nation, was disrupted by a mob of thousands on January 6, 2021.” Trump, his aides, a significant number of Republican lawmakers and the right-wing media machine have never stopped minimizing, rationalizing and, yes, lying about those events.

Penalties for the crimes committed that day are needed to send a message to purveyors of the Jan. 6 whitewash.

The prosecutor’s sentencing memo should also compel prosecution to the full extent of the law of those who set the wheels of the insurrection in motion (or worse, organized it). Chansley, who has a history of mental illness, was a pawn for the Republican MAGA crowd. Consider how perfectly the prosecutor’s arguments for a tough sentence apply to Trump and his aides:

It is noteworthy that Chansley’s sentence came on the same day that the House censured Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., for posting a violent animation in which he kills Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and assaults President Joe Biden. One cannot avoid the conclusion that the decline of the GOP has accelerated since the Jan. 6 attack. With a handful of exceptions, the House Republican caucus has tried to prevent a full investigation of Jan. 6 and remains aligned with Trump. Now, it refuses to censure a member for fanning political violence — with a measly two exceptions. As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters, “It’s outrageous on the part of the Republican leadership not to act on this.”

Given that Trump and most of the party he still leads around by the nose deny the violent nature of the insurrection, criminal investigation and prosecution must ensue for everyone involved to the extent that facts and the law allow. Moreover, there must be a political reckoning for a party that has yet to accept responsibility, toss out the insurrection’s instigator or denounce violent rhetoric. The need to keep such people out of power has not abated. Short memories, hopefully, will be refreshed.