Jan. 6, 2021, wasn't exactly a storming of the Bastille. That is, the riot in Washington, D.C., that day didn't lead to a collapsed government and "power to the people" and all that. The riot just led to criminal convictions and prison sentences.
What the rioters in D.C. hadn't figured out that day--and some haven't yet--is that the power had been in the people all along. It's the American way: Voters elect presidents, and sometimes a president of a new party is elected.
And until Inauguration Day 2021, presidents of the losing team traditionally went to the inauguration speech for the new guy to show the world that the Americans have transferred power peacefully and with grace. (Grace is not something normally associated with the last occupant of the Oval Office.)
One of the faces of the Jan. 6 riot is Richard "Bigo" Barnett, from Gravette, Ark. He was convicted of four felonies and four misdemeanors in January, but mainly he is known for getting his picture taken with his feet up on one of the desks in Nancy Pelosi's office. He also left a note: "Nancy, Bigo was here you beotch."
We're not lawyers or judicial experts, but we'll bet that most people will think the judge in this case got it about right. Team Bigo argued for a maximum of a year in prison; the prosecutors wanted seven years, plus some. The judge split the difference and Bigo (Mr. Bigo? Mr. Barnett?) received 4 1/2 years.
This seems fair. For those who'd think the sentence too harsh, we'd remind them that the man brought a dangerous weapon into the United States Capitol Building--a Hike N Strike Walking Staff stun gun. The judge in the case mentioned during sentencing that Mr. Barnett had attempted to sell autographed photos, and attempted to copyright the phrase he left on the note in Pelosi's office.
For those who'd think the sentence too soft, we'd allow that Mr. Barnett didn't use the walking stick/stun gun on anybody. That's about it for our mitigating thoughts.
As this editorial was being written, a story flashed across the wire that one of the leaders of Oath Keepers was sentenced to 18 years in prison on his charge of seditious conspiracy. The man had been sentenced, according to the FLASH!, "for leading a months-long plot to prevent President Biden's inauguration by unleashing political violence, culminating in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol."
If you lead a months-long plot to prevent the peaceful transfer of power in the American government, an 18-year prison sentence seems about right. Others down the chain, who were whipped into a frenzy by self-interested politicians peddling lies about a stolen election, would deserve much less. And, we should mention, they have been getting much less. The American system continues to work. Even for those who've worked against it.
Mr. Bigo, or whatever he likes to be called, is looking at several years to think on it. Power to the people.