Words matter
(Alamy)
What we call things matters. In the case of what happened in our Capitol on January 6, 2021, Trump initially tried to blame Antifa for the violence at the Capitol that day. When that brazen attempt failed, he acknowledged his people, tweeting a video recording late in the day saying “I know how you feel, but go home and go home in peace. I know you’re in pain. I know you’re hurt.” Eventually he tried to convince the world that the people at the Capitol had been “a loving crowd.”
The words have gone from “interjection of Antifa” to “peaceful protest” to “protest” to “insurrection.” From the House Select Committee hearings, we see the plans hatched in texts coming out by hour. And on and on.
The words have gone from right-wing groups helping federal officials, to incriminating members of Congress and their staffers in whatever January 6 is called.
Now, the words have changed from “insurrection” to “coup” and “sedition”. Is “treason” premature? Maybe, but what’s next?
William Bruce Mumford was hanged for treason in 1862 for tearing down a United States flag during the American Civil War. That incident happened under martial law, not Article III of the US Constitution. It is chilling that almost 160 years later it was a flagpole attached to an American flag that was the weapon of choice used against a police officer on January 6th.
Chilling as well to watch the scenes of Confederate and Trump flags being waved in Trump’s honor inside our Capitol. “There is no question that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day,” Senator Mitch McConnell said at the time. “The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their President.” They were Trump’s army.
A coup is the sudden removal or displacement of authority that takes place outside the bounds of the law. It comes from the French term “coup d’etat,” which means overthrowing the government.
The term sedition refers to overt conduct that excites people to rebel against their government. This may include making speeches or distributing any writings with this goal in mind. Sedition by Southerners is what started America’s Civil War.
Treason is a betrayal of trust. In a legal sense, the term refers to the commission of overt acts to overthrow one’s own government, or to consciously and intentionally aid an enemy of the nation. Treason is the only crime defined in the Constitution.
The 2001 Patriot Act expanded the government’s definition of terrorism to cover domestic, as opposed to international, terrorism. Under the US code, domestic terrorism is defined as violent acts that are committed within the US and are a violation of federal or state criminal laws that are intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping.
The FBI characterises domestic terrorism as violent extremism meant to further ideological goals stemming from political, religious, social, racial or environmental influences. Advocating for the overthrow of the government is a federal crime that includes advocating, abetting, advising or the necessity of overthrowing or destroying the US government by force or violence, or by the assassination of any government officials. It also applies to anyone organising, joining or affiliating with a group that encourages overthrowing the government.
The evidence that is being collected by the House select committee investigating January 6 seems overwhelming. It is almost induces hope. But we have been burned badly in the past. Nothing has stuck to Donald Trump. Even while it may become clear that the emperor has no clothes, Trump loyalists don’t care. They really don’t. If justice isn’t done to condemn the coup brought on by a sitting president, we may as well concede that we are a failed state.
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