DOJ Scores 400th Conviction for January 6th Insurrection


     Once again, it's Landon Manwaring. This Utahn is a relatively minor figure who pleaded guilty to the class B misdemeanor charge of picketing, parading, or demonstrating in the Capitol. However, sheerly numerically, he managed to be significant in two different ways in the course of the investigation into the January 6th insurrection. Arrested and charged on August 10th, his guilty plea came at his first court appearance on August 26th. He was the 10th Utah resident charged in the insurrection. Now, Manwaring has become the 400th Capitol insurrectionist to be convicted.

     This is a major victory for the U.S. Department of Justice and their partners at the FBI. Since the first trial on February 28th, 2022, a total of 18 Capitol riot defendants have been convicted at trial, while one (Kyle Fitzsimons of Maine) has had his trial and is awaiting the verdict. Of these trials, eight have been before juries: Guy Reffitt, Thomas Webster, Thomas Robertson, Timothy Louis Hale-Cusanelli, Dustin Thompson, Anthony Williams, Matthew Bledsoe, and Erik Herrera were all convicted by juries on all counts, each case including at least one felony. Meanwhile, insurrectionists Couy Griffin, Kevin and Hunter Seefried, Jesus Rivera, Nicholas Rodean, Robert Morss, David Lee Judd, Geoffrey Sills, William Rogan Reid, and Christopher Patrick Moynihan were convicted of misdemeanors (Griffin and Rivera) and felonies (the rest of the men) in bench trials before judges. Just one defendant, Matthew Martin of New Mexico, was acquitted of two misdemeanor charges against him in April 2022.

     At the same time, 382 people have pleaded guilty. A majority of these pleas have been to misdemeanors, but the rate of felony guilty pleads has been increasing drastically. A total of 249 defendants have been sentenced while 149 more have been convicted and are awaiting sentencing. The obvious question: why does that add up to 398? Two more defendants, Matthew Perna and Mark Aungst, both of Pennsylvania, did plead guilty, Perna to a felony and Aungst to a misdemeanor. However, both later died by suicide before sentencing. 

     Aside from the acquittal of Martin, there has been only one case in which an insurrectionist beat their charges: in June 2021, prosecutors dismissed charges against Christopher M. Kelly, a New York defendant charged with misdemeanor offenses. With 400 wins and two losses, the current conviction rate in Capitol riot cases is over 99.5 percent. This is subject to change. Arrests, convictions, sentences, and other proceedings related to the Capitol insurrection are occurring every day. There could be five acquittals next week or no defendant could ever be acquitted again. Obviously, I'd like to hope the latter would happen.

     January 6th, 2023, will mark the second anniversary of the insurrection at the United States Capitol. Having a 99.9 percent conviction rate by that date would be a powerful statement to make. The DOJ and FBI will keep arresting, convicting, and sentencing these human toilets and the activist community will continue holding to the flames the feet of insurrectionists and the authorities in charge of making sure they face justice alike. January 6th insurrectionists attacked American democracy, and that's why so many people are dedicated to attacking the January 6th insurrectionists.

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