"In April, 72-year-old Lonnie Coffman of Falkville, Alabama, was sentenced to four years in prison for bringing loaded guns, ammunition and Molotov cocktail ingredients to Washington on Jan. 6.
The weapons were found in his truck—parked less than half a mile from the Capitol building—which he left to attend a rally at the National Mall. A statement by the Department of Justice said Coffman
"also carried a loaded handgun and a loaded revolver as he walked around the area that day."
In March 2022, 49-year-old Texan Guy Reffitt, was convicted (among other charges) for being unlawfully present on Capitol grounds
while possessing a firearm and transporting firearms during civil disorder.
A
Department of Justice indictment from January 2021 also states that Christopher Alberts, Maryland, was found carrying a
Taurus G2C semi-automatic handgun on Capitol grounds on January 6.
Off-duty Drug Enforcement Administration agent Mark Sami Ibrahim, 32, was also indicted by a grand jury for bringing a firearm
within the United States Capitol and its grounds.
In an article for
Newsweek, Nick Suplina and Justin Wagner of Everytown for Gun Safety said they had identified
"12 individuals allegedly tied to the events of Jan. 6 who were arrested in Washington, D.C., and charged with firearms offenses."
A U.S. Capitol
Police intelligence division report also found posts on now defunct blog thedonald.win in the lead-up to Jan. 6, which, the report said, contained
"several comments [that] promote confronting members of Congress and carrying firearms during the protest."
Further comments on the site included
"Bring guns. It's now or never" and
"Don't cuck out. This is do or die. Bring your guns."
But while there is clear evidence showing that firearms were indeed brought into the January 6 march, the underlying claim itself is somewhat of a red herring, because it implies that possession of firearms is somehow a condition for an insurrection.
American politics expert Professor Angelia Wilson of the University of Manchester, told Newsweek that insurrection is an act of violent resistance against a civil authority or government, that may involve any weapon or hand-to-hand combat.
"On January 6th, the act of using a crowd-control railing to hit those charged with defending the Capitol building is an act of insurrection," Wilson said.
"Had the protesters reached Vice President Pence, it would not have mattered if they used a gun or a noose, attacking the Vice-President is an act of insurrection.
"There is no doubt that protesters who violently attacked those defending the Capitol on January 6th were committing acts of insurrection."
On this count, there is also plenty of evidence that protesters were carrying other weapons and acted violently towards authorities.
Among the more than 800 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 riot, more than 85 have been accused of using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.
There were also the reports of
pipe bombs found near the Capitol before January 6, though the investigation into who was behind them is still ongoing.
The broader question of whether the events amount to an insurrection is more complicated and goes beyond the issue of firearms being carried or deployed.
Dr Christopher Phelps, of the Department of American and Canadian Studies at University of Nottingham, told
Newsweek "...
a mob seeking to use coercion to stop Congress from its ordinary electoral procedure would qualify as an insurrection."
Dr Phelps highlighted how the crowd "battered the capitol police with flagpoles, sprayed bear spray, and shoved, kicked, and punched officers, among other episodes of violence, all while chanting, 'Hang Mike Pence!'"
Dr Mitchell Robertson, an Associate Lecturer in US history at University College London, echoed Dr Phelps' views, adding "As the evidence uncovered by the House Committee and other legal investigations have shown, there was a clear and deliberate attempt to overturn the democratic will of the American people as reflected in the election of
Joe Biden as President in the 2020 election.
"This, to me, is the definition of an insurrection. While it is easy to dismiss the participants in the Capitol insurrection as bit players, it is important to understand that they were part of a concerted effort, including the upper echelons of the Republican Party including President Trump, to subvert the democratic will of the American people."
"The actual motivation and intent of the protesters likely varied; some may have supported outright rebellion/insurrection, while others were focused on obstructing/delaying the vote count, which is still wrong and illegal, but arguably different from an insurrection."
As the House determines whether Donald Trump broke the law, the actions of the U.S. Capitol crowds on January 6, 2021, are yet again under scrutiny.
www.newsweek.com
