QAn*n Shaman Gets 41 Months: Excellent or Excessive?
Who cares about trying to overturn a presidential election anyway?
I tend to lean libertarian, but I’m not an anarchist. History has shown that laws and rules are necessary in order to maintain a civilization, and the only thing worse than cops is no cops. #DefundThePolice? #NoThanks!
So when I see the 1/6 rioters going to jail, I’m ambivalent. If they didn’t want to be punished, they shouldn’t have participated in a riot, in an insane attempt to overturn the results of an election they lost. They made their choice, and now they’re dealing with the consequences.
(Please note that I said “riot.” Not “insurrection” or “coup” or any of that nonsense. What they did that day was bad enough without turning it into something it wasn’t. Were they angry about an election they lost? Yes. Did they have some cockamamie idea that they could overturn the results? Yes. Was there ever any possibility they would somehow take over the government? No.)
Hey man, sorry, but no matter how fervently you believe in your internet conspiracy theory, it does not put you above the law. If you break into the Capitol Building and go nuts in there because you lost an election, the powers that be will make an example of you.
Hence:
I tend to agree with Dan McLaughlin, up to a point. Jacob Chansley, AKA the QAn*n Shaman, does need to be punished somehow.
But is three and a half years in prison really necessary? Especially considering he’s obviously mentally ill, and he didn’t actually commit any of the violence we saw that day. He was the most visible member of that mob, but that doesn’t make him the worst offender. I believe in law and order, but I also believe in mercy.
If I were the judge, here’s what I would do: