Note: This reflects my personal opinion rather than that of the Summit County Republican Party.
More than 500 of your fellow Americans need your help. These are the detainees of Jan. 6. The very people that Nancy Pelosi is trying to prosecute. She labels anyone who doesn’t agree with her “a domestic terrorist.”
Supporting this cause is definitely a hot potato. It does no politician any good — except for allowing them to sleep at night. According to Glenn Greenwald, “the abusive treatment of 1/6 defendants — imprisoned before trial, in solitary — is largely ignored due to fear of being accused of sympathizing with them.”
Amendment IV to the U.S. Constitution says citizens “have the right to be secure in their persons, houses and effects.” Yet the DOJ and FBI have hunted people down and arrested them in front of their community using more than 270,000 digital media tips.
In Sarasota, Florida, reporters witnessed the arrest of a Joseph Hackett. In an interview with Steve Bannon, Hackett’s wife, Deneen, said, “The FBI was in my home with a search warrant, and I would be told when I could go back. It caught me by surprise. My husband is a chiropractor. His practice is now completely gone. I don’t know how I am going to pay our bills. … He was put in the general population with violent criminals. The public defenders said they couldn’t do anything to help him. … Every night at 9 p.m.,” she said, “the January 6th detainees sing the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ to keep up their spirits.”
Amendment V says “No person shall be held to answer for a Capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless on … indictment of a Grand Jury … nor deprived of life, liberty or property without due process.” But according to The Guardian, “Federal prosecutors did fight for months to keep … defendants in custody with federal judges eventually overruling them.”
Many of these detainees have been charged with misdemeanors and released on their own recognizance. But at least 30% are still being held — some for 23 hours a day in solitary confinement. Yet prolonged solitary confinement “is torture and certainly should not be used as a punitive tool to intimidate or extract cooperation,” says Tammie Gregg, deputy director of the ACLU National Prison Project.
Now, we find out prosecutors are holding back potentially exculpatory evidence. Channing D. Phillips, acting U.S attorney, said “more than 14,000 hours of documentary footage is being kept out of the hands of defense attorneys, and the public.”
Amendment VI says “the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury.” Well, six months have passed and at least 30% of these detainees are still being held without a trial, The Guardian reported in June. Must they wait while authorities review 14,000 hours of tape? Does a “speedy” trial mean the middle of next year?
Amendment VII says citizens “have a right to a trial by jury.” People have confessed under duress, some have appeared before judges, but no one has gone before a jury of his peers.
Amendment VIII says “Excessive bail shall not be imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishment inflicted.” Twenty-three hours of solitary confinement is cruel and usual punishment. And many of these detainees would be grateful for some excessive bail.
Everyone has a responsibility here. Aren’t we still innocent until proven guilty in America? The First Amendment is almost gone in this country. They are trying to remove the Second Amendment every day. Are you so willing to see the demise of Amendments IV-VIII?
You can turn your back on these defendants, put your head in the sand, and say they shouldn’t have been “petitioning their government for a redress of grievances.”
But remember, “all it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.” In the end, despots don’t care which side of the argument you are on. There is no safety and security for anyone under these conditions.