We have previously discussed controversial sentences handed down in cases involving rioters on January 6th, including sentencing orders that, in my view, violate First Amendment rights. That included the case of Daniel Goodwyn, who pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count of entering and remaining in a restricted building. That crime would ordinarily not involve any jail time for a first offender. However, Judge Reggie B. Walton of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia decided that he would use the case to regulate what Goodwyn was reading and communicating with a chilling probation order. After the case was sent back by the D.C. Circuit, Walton doubled down on his extraordinary order. Now the D.C. Circuit has refused to hear an emergency appeal.
Judge Walton has attracted controversy and criticism over his public comments about former President Donald Trump and the other issues. He caused a stir in Washington after doing an interview with CNN in which he rebuked former President Donald Trump for his criticism of judges and their family members. Walton previously called Trump a “charlatan,” and said that “I don’t think he cares about democracy, only power.”
Critics charged that Walton’s public statements ran afoul of Canon 3A(6) of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges, which states: “A judge should not make public comment on the merits of a matter pending or impending in any court.”
Walton then triggered criticism over his handling of the Goodwin case.
The case involved Daniel Goodwyn, 35, of Corinth, Texas, who pleaded guilty on Jan. 31, 2023, to one misdemeanor count of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority. That is a relatively minor offense, but Walton imposed a 60-day jail sentence in June 2023 with these ongoing conditions on his online reading and speech.
Walton reportedly noted that Goodwyn spread “disinformation” during a broadcast of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on March 14, 2023 and ordered that Mr. Goodwyn’s computer be subject to “monitoring and inspection” by a probation agent to check if he spread Jan. 6 disinformation during the term of his supervised release.
After accepting the plea to a single misdemeanor, Walton expressed scorn for Goodwyn appearing “gleeful” on Jan. 6 and his “egging on” other rioters. He asked his defense counsel “why I should feel that he doesn’t pose a risk to our democracy?”
As a condition for supervised release, DOJ pushed the monitoring conditions and found a judge who seemed eager to impose it.
The order reflects the utter impunity shown by the Justice Department in its pursuit of January 6th defendants. Justice Department official Michael Sherwin proudly declared in a television interview that “our office wanted to ensure that there was shock and awe … it worked because we saw through media posts that people were afraid to come back to D.C. because they’re, like, ‘If we go there, we’re gonna get charged.’ … We wanted to take out those individuals that essentially were thumbing their noses at the public for what they did.”
Sherwin was celebrated for his pledge to use such draconian means to send a message to others in the country. (Sherwin has left the Justice Department and is now a partner at Kobre & Kim).
Walton was rebuked by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia for a surveillance order of Goodwin to detect any spreading of “disinformation” or “misinformation.”
In my new book, “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage,” I discussed concerns over the cases like Goodwyn’s and their implications for free speech. I participated in the coverage on January 6th and criticized President Trump’s speech while he was giving it. I disagreed with the legal claims made to oppose certification. However, the “shock and awe” campaign of the Justice Department, in my view, has trampled on free speech rights in cases that range from Goodwyn to the prosecutions of Trump himself.
Many of us were relieved when appellate judges (Gregory Katsas, Neomi Rao, and Bradley Garcia) rebuked Walton and held that “[t]he district court plainly erred in imposing the computer-monitoring condition without considering whether it was ‘reasonably related’ to the relevant sentencing factors and involved ‘no greater deprivation of liberty than is reasonably necessary’ to achieve the purposes behind the sentencing.”
They sent the case back but, to the surprise of few, Judge Walton proceeded to double down on the monitoring while implausibly declaring “I don’t want to chill anyone’s First Amendment rights.”
For some reason, Walton believes that barring an individual from reviewing and engaging in political speech does not “chill” his First Amendment rights.
Most of us were appalled by the riot and the underlying views of figures like Goodwyn, who is a self-proclaimed member of the Proud Boys. He was rightfully arrested and should be punished for his conduct. The question is not the legitimacy of punishment, but the scope of that punishment.
Prosecutor Brian Brady detailed how the Justice Department has in place a new system using artificial intelligence to monitor the reading and statements of citizens like Goodwyn. The Justice Department brushed aside the free speech concerns since Goodwyn remains under court supervision, even though he pleaded guilty to only a single misdemeanor.
Brady described a virtual AI driven thought program. The justification was that Goodwyn refused to abandon his extreme political views:
“Throughout the pendency of Goodwyn’s case, he has made untruthful statements regarding his conduct and the events of the day, he has used websites and social media to place targets on police officers who defended the Capitol, and he has used these platforms to publish and view extremist media. Imposing the requested [monitoring] conditions would protect the public from further dissemination of misinformation… [and] provide specific deterrence from him committing similar crimes.”
So now federal courts can use a single misdemeanor for unlawful entry in a federal building for less than 40 seconds to “protect the public from … dissemination of misinformation” on the government.
That was all Walton needed to hear. Relying on a record supplied by the Justice Department, Walton said in the hearing that Goodwyn is still engaging “in the same type of rhetoric” that fomented the Jan. 6 violence. He added that he was concerned about Goodwyn spreading “false narratives” when we are “on the heels of another election.”
Walton merely added the DOJ record to his renewed sentencing conditions.
Defense counsel then returned to the D.C. Circuit to seek an emergency stay but Judges Florence Pan and Bradley Garcia denied the motion, holding that “Appellant has not satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending appeal” to prevent further “false narratives.”
That drew a pointed dissent from Judge Gregory Katsas who stated:
Daniel Goodwyn pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(1). Goodwyn entered the Capitol and remained inside for a total of 36 seconds. He did not use force to enter, did not assault police officers, and neither took nor damaged any government property. When police instructed Goodwyn to leave the building, he did so.
…
On appeal, this Court vacated the condition … We further instructed the district court, if it wished to impose a new computer- monitoring condition on remand, to “explain its reasoning,” to “develop the record in support of its decision,” and to ensure that the condition complies with section 3583(d) and with the Constitution.
The district court reimposed the same condition on remand. In an oral hearing, the court said that Goodwyn had made statements on social media that “can be, it seems to me, construed as” urging a repeat of January 6, particularly “on the heels of another election.” In its written order, the court elaborated on what it called Goodwyn’s “concerning online activity.” This included posting exhortations to “#StopTheSteal!” and “#FightForTrump,” soliciting donations to fund his travel to Washington, posing for a livestream while inside the Capitol, confirming his presence there by text, and tweeting opinions such as: “They WANT a revolution. They’re proving our point. They don’t represent us. They hate us.” Id. at 3–4. In addressing what the court described as Goodwyn pushing “false narratives” about January 6 after-the-fact, the court, quoting from the government’s brief, led with the fact Goodwyn “sat for an interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News Channel.” Id. at 4. Finally, in concluding that computer monitoring was reasonably related to Goodwyn’s offense, the court reasoned that monitoring would prevent Goodwyn from raising funds to support potential future crimes and would separate him “from extremist media, rehabilitating him.”
Judge Katsas stated that Goodwyn was likely to prevail on the merits and that his colleagues allowed the denial of First Amendment rights to continue in the interim.
The Walton order reflects the erosion of support for the First Amendment, even on our courts. It is reminiscent of our previous discussion of how courts have criminalized “toxic ideologies” as part of the crackdown on free speech in the United Kingdom.
Here is the D.C. Circuit order: United States v. Goodwyn
DEI, the gift that keeps on giving…..
Seems to me that we should all launch a class action suit against CNN, MSNBC, Wash Post, NY TIMES, for false statements, false narratives, eliminating context that explains a statement, and then force through, in some manner, a win and then monitoring of all their print, TV, Radio, Internet offerings to make sure they do not alter the truth.
I have never been one to impede the press but it seems that the press has taken an almost totally unfettered access to the news cycle to print anything they wish with no concept of responsibility, accuracy, or even shame. Of course the present Supreme Court could remove the constraints of the Sullivan vs NY Times. I don’t care if a person is a public official or not. They have the same rights to freedom of speech and ability to protect their reputation from slander and libel as any other.
The decision comes from 1964 and revolved around a suit by Montgomery Police officials vs a screed published by The NY Times that was clearly Libelous. But it was also a very liberal court and the case was in the South. There was tendency to treat the whole South with blanket decisions that in retrospect should have been more focused but since the whole South was evil no one outside the South cared.
Well maybe the whole country is now starting to care.
The Supreme Court virtually gave the press (so called) free rein. It needs to be looked at again and become more focused and give better balance.
I respect the press but they should have to no more freedom than I or anyone else on this blog or elsewhere to give their criticisms and yet have to back them up with facts. Letters to the editor are not a check on Press malfeasance.
GEB,
Well said and spot on.
I count on independent news outlets like The Free Press, Glenn Greenwald, Matt Taibbi, Sharyl Attkisson and others for much more accurate, credible news. Support them, starve or at least continue to point out how MSM is nothing but DNC propaganda.
*SENATOR KEELEY
Upstate, you’re showing an inability to convert. The conversion therapy isn’t working on you. Would you be an older person ?
I want to correct all those ignoramuses and liars who uncaringly claimed Biden replenished the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Those with intelligence recognized that Biden was lying.
Since the numbers just came out, I figured it would be good to reproduce them here so the liars (Gigi, George-Svelaz, Dennis, and Anonymous) could see they aren’t fooling anyone.
*January 2021 Biden took office with 630 million barrels of crude oil
*The SPR now has less than 376 million barrels.
*The liar-in-chief Biden replenished only 40 million barrels.
It’s crucial to base our understanding on facts, not on the misleading claims of a group of liars.
https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=WCSSTUS1&f=W
S. Meyer,
To add to your comment, Biden Energy Department’s claim it replenished Strategic Petroleum Reserve misleading, expert says
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/energy-departments-claim-it-replenished-strategic-petroleum-reserve
We must point out the misleading, misinformation, disinformation narrative.
*SENATOR KEELEY
Yes, and check the silver after the Biden team leaves. Count the spoons . ….
“Oil-stat” similar to “crime stat” “job stat” “‘immigration’ stat” and “election result stat”
Over and over we find those on the left beleive that just saying things makes it true.
Depending on the Day Harris is either Defending Biden’s policies or pretending that Trump’s policies are hers.
Deliberately or accidentally – she just coopted Trump policy on not taxing tips – Great I am glad she agrees.
Lets have congress ovte on that NOW – both parties agree – we should get a unanimous vote.
It should be an easy one – taxes on tips are so inmefficient that the cost of collecting and enforcing them likely exceeds any revenue from them.
Eliminate the taxes and fire everyone in the IRS involved in enforcing taxes on Tipps. That is how we pay for that.
I am expecting Harris to coopt Trump’s policy of not taxing SS next – while that is not as revenue neutral as tipp taxes, it is still not a large amount of tax revenue, and elimninating it does have reall cost cuts.
But that is part of the problem – Democrats MIGHT eliminate the taxes on Tip[ps -= but they are NOT going to eliminate the costs associated with collecting them – the IRS will not be cut. So we will lose revenue, but we will continue to pay the cost of collecting that revenue
Regardless – Who is Kamala Harris – is she for fracking or against it ? Is she for defunding the police or against it ? is she for cutting taxes or against it? Is she for Israle or against it? Is is she for securing the border or against it ?
Is she for tampons for boys or against it ?
Is she for individual liberty or against it ?
Nor is this a Kamala problem – this is a democrat problem.
What are Democrats actually for ? What are they actually against ?
consistently their CONDUCT has shown they are tyrantical socialists who do not tolerate dissent.
Their Conduct has shown that their words do not matter – they lie easily.
Judge Harris and all democrats – as well as all republicans by what they have DONE when they had power.
Trump kept nearly all of his campaign promises – even those I disagree with. Those he did not – he tried and failed.
When we put Democrats back in power in 2020 – they were promising all things to all people – they were promising to be far left to the left.
They were promising to be moderate, bipartisan unifiers to the rest of us. They were promising to be competent to all.
They turned out to be divisive, pretty far left, and complete failures.
And that is how they should be judged.
Turley ignored an important fact that is often contained in stories about federal judges: Reggie Walton was appointed to the bench in 2001 by President George W. Bush, a Republican. Walton is a nice man, generally amicable and approachable but he is not a deep thinker and hardly a strict constitutionalist. As former deputy drug czar, Reggie was more of a scold than an analyst when it came to addressing the drug problem. He has managed to survive in a gaggle of left-wing leftist judges, perhaps by out-surprising them at times with his radicalism. This may have been one of those times. Like many Bush Republicans, his dislike of former POTUS Trump is palpable. The J6 prosecutions have hurt the Democrats by exposing their despotic tendencies to go after those who disagree with them while at the very same time ignoring the crimes of those who support them or vice-versa. That surely plays to having a smaller, more manageable, and more democratic government, something that Trump and Vance seem to want.
So, one IQ-challenged elected imbecile appointed someone of similar mental acuity to a lifetime tenured Federal position. Slightly interesting, but of no great surprise, and it certainly doesn’t add any useful information to the conversation. I would also challenge your assertion that it “plays to having a smaller, more manageable, and more democratic government”. How exactly does it accomplish that? What it seems to do is show the penchant of statists on both sides of the political fence to progressively remove any voice the populace might once have had in their own governance. It might be constructive if you showed grounds upon which Walton (and any other such idiots) might be impeached and removed from the Federal bench.
Failure to follow the constitution is amble grounds – this is not even a close call. As I understand he has been rebuked by the DC court of appeals – not a bastion of the right, not first amdment absolutists.
Those on the federal courts are free to have whatever opinions they wish.
But they must ACT following the constitution.
Walton is free to beleive the first amendment is wrong. But unless he can follow the the constitution regardless he is unfit to be a judge and must be removed. That is true of all judges. We give TINY leeway where there are tiny gray areas – but Walton is beyond grey areas. Further he is defying higher courts.
It is not just that he speaks out against the constitution, it is that he will not follow it.
We have had many many consevative or libertairinan judges in the past that Followed constitutional precident while railing against it in disents or even in their oppinions – but when they made actual decisions that had effect – they did what the constitution and upper courts demanded.
Walton is defying them – he must go.
At the very least he must recuse or be recused from all first amendment cases.
JJC-Totally agree. I was just getting ready to point out what you just eloquently said. Of Course “W” was not always known for picking good judges. He Nominated his White House Attorney to the Supreme Court with no previous judicial history at all. Harriet Miers. Who was recommended by Harry Reid, and Arlen Spector???. Luckily she was convinced to withdraw after Senate and House Republicans objected vociferously.
Maybe “W” really was a “C” student like he said. He redeemed himself to some degree by nominating Roberts and Alito. Some days I do regret voting for “W” but when I remember who he was opposed by I get cold sweats and then shake off the regrets.
” Some days I do regret voting for “W” but when I remember who he was opposed by I get cold sweats and then shake off the regrets.”
@ GEB: That is the problem. We have candidates who are not fit for the office, or the office may have too much power. The federal government has spread its fingers over all sectors of the economy and our culture.
With increased power comes corruption and the need to buy influence in Washington. At the same time, Congress gave up most of its power permitting the courts to pass legislation or rewrite it, something the courts were not designed to do.
It’s imperative that we scale down the federal government to its most crucial duties and powers as outlined in the Constitution. Let’s return the intended power to the individual states, where it rightfully belongs.
The Roberts nomination was hardly “redemption”.
This guy dropped the ball every single time he was the swing vote.
In other words, Reggie is a judge only because of his skin color and has about as much business on the bench as my Yorkshire terrier.
Do not stop asking this —>
Where is President Biden?
Where is President Biden answering LIVE questions in REAL time?
Is he still with us? Is he incapacitated?
WHO IS RUNNING THE COUNTRY?
Photos from a distance of Biden lounging on Rehoboth Beach, or Biden walking into the WH, or Biden in a taped interview, or Biden in a taped address to the nation, or Biden who grew 6 inches taller, are not proof of anything.
Where are the media? Did they fall out of a coconut tree?
“Do not stop asking this —>
Where is President Biden? [About one block from me in Rehoboth Beach, DE.]
Where is President Biden answering LIVE questions in REAL time?[Will never happen again. Stop asking.]
Is he still with us? Is he incapacitated? [He is still with us. Saw him on the beach yesterday. Unless, of course, it is a body double. He has been incapacitated since birth.]
WHO IS RUNNING THE COUNTRY?”[Obama and Valerie Jarrett. Of course.]
“WHO IS RUNNING THE COUNTRY?”
The very same gaggle of unelected butt monkeys who have been in charge since January 21, 2020.
I mean no offense, but does it really matter where the demented old criminal is?
And the and answer to you final question is: Pretty much the same collection of criminals who’ve been running it for three and a half years.
No offense taken, and yes, it really matters where the demented old criminal is. He is still the sitting president of the United States and we have a right to know WHO is making the decisions, who is deciding to send our soldiers into war, who is taking the 3am phone call? Biden has a DUTY to this country to either demonstrate to us that he can do the job right now, or to step down.
Biden had a medical emergency on July 17 during a campaign trip to Nevada. Were we as a country even notified of this by the media or the White House? No. Then Biden was pushed out by a coup from within his own party, disappears from public for more than a week, until he shows up in a taped address to the nation with bruises on his face covered with makeup. What the hell?
https://www.thedailybeast.com/listen-vegas-cops-scramble-to-secure-hospital-for-biden-health-scare
That said, I believe Biden will step down in September, issue blanket pardons to his son and the rest of his crime family, and give Harris the top job to grease the skids for her even more going into the election.
So I suppose you are right. As Hillary would say, what difference does it make? Who cares that the Communists have overrun our government. Who cares where Biden is?
Don’t let Democrats and the media “normalize” any of this.
“The media’s willingness to play along with the gaslighting and memory-holing of Harris’ record over the last four years is truly jaw-dropping.” @TomBevanRCP
Also the media memory-holing of the near assassination of President Trump.
Also the media memory-holing of the Biden coup.
Also the media memory-holing of the rigged Democrat primary.
Also the media memory-holing of Biden’s senility.
Democrat leaders sometimes speak the truth: “The media works for us. We control them.”
*SENATOR KEELEY
Are you saying Biden was strong armed and pistol whipped? Yes, they’re all hostages in fact.
Thanks 4 the reminder
That is a silly question.
The same cabal that has been running the country for almost 4 years.
“If i answer any more questions, I’ll get in trouble”
“I’ve been told i can call on 3 people”
—-Joe Biden time and time again
The monitoring thing has a 1984 feel to it.
That and the fact TSA put Tulsi Gabbard on their “monitoring” list is very police state like.
Upstate, if the left wins the election, a police state might be the result. There are a lot more people who have been “monitored” and jailed than just the ones we read about.
Try—> kidnapped, murdered and maimed.
“There are a lot more people who have been “monitored” and jailed than just the ones we read about.”
Doesn’t that by definition indicate that we ALREADY HAVE a police state?
That indicates we have severe flaws in the system that are correctable now.
The best way to correct this is for everyone to vote for Trump and Republicans. Democrats must be shown that the American public doesn’t like their idea of a police state.
The win plus the number of votes adds weight. Don’t vote for third parties or Democrats, even if they run for dog catcher. Numbers count!
S Meyer, I agree. Having once generally voted for Democrats, I now vote Republican across the board, without regard to the quality of the candidate. Living in Massachusetts it will make little difference, but messages must be sent. And if Harris/Walz win, the country will take a further lurch to the statist left, and coming back will be much more difficult. We will see further:
Green cronyism and stifling of fossil fuel production;
Tax increases;
Imposition of reverse racist policies;
Promotion of transgenderism and chemical and surgical mutilation of children;
Indoctrination in the public schools and discouragement of school choice, and general surrender to the teachers unions and erosion of standards;
Open borders and amnesty and other benefits for illegal aliens;
Appeasement of Iran and distancing from Israel;
Support for endless war in Ukraine;
Weakness towards China;
Promotion of biomedical tyranny of the kind witnessed during the spread of Covid;
Suppression of free speech in league with big tech;
Weaponising of the justice system; and
Uncontrolled spending and money printing to cover growing deficits.
Daniel,
Well said.
If Harris/Waltz wins, aside from you list, the one thing that could bring it all down is the uncontrolled spending and money printing would cause a collapse. Some say we are already on track for exactly that, no matter who is in the WH. And I agree with that assessment.
Invest in chickens, PMs, ammunition, and your own well being.
“one thing that could bring it all down is the uncontrolled spending and money printing would cause a collapse”
A few years ago, there was a proposal made for the Treasury to issue a trillion dollar denomination coin, so that all of the statutory limits on printing paper currency (believe it or not, some restraints actually do exist) could be bypassed in one fell swoop. Most of us who were aware of that proposal scoffed and assumed it was unserious – just some folks exercising literacy license to make what they thought was a valid point. Well, apparently anyone who thought that was wrong: the imbeciles actually were serious. Please take note that (unfortunately) this is not a Babylon Bee or Onion piece:
The Trillion Dollar Coin: A Dumb Idea That Some Government People Take Seriously
https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/trillion-dollar-coin-dumb-idea-some-government-people-take-seriously
“That and the fact TSA put Tulsi Gabbard on their “monitoring” list is very police state like.”
And the fact that there is no perceptible public outcry against what has been done to Gabbard does not instill much hope at all that our current rapid descent into a police state will be corrected at any time in the foreseeable future.
Nations do not heal without full beaureaucratic and judicial justice.
“Walton expressed scorn for Goodwyn appearing “gleeful””
This is the entire reason they hate us. Without their interference, we can wake up and look forward to the day, the season, the year, the our future, our kids’ and their kids’ futures’ and appear gleeful because we are not lowlife degenerate sociopathic scum. We are not beholden to false narratives about centralized power and collectivist necessity. We can be free, if allowed, whereas they can never be so as addled.
He asked his defense counsel “why I should feel that he doesn’t pose a risk to our democracy?”
Back atcha, Reggie.
I happen to agree with everything Goodwyn has said…. We The PEOPLE have allowed this mess to fester and stew… WE the PEOPLE are the only ones that can fix it.
Our ancestors started an armed revolt over a slight tax increase to their breakfast tea.
We the People have power.
We need to use it.
That’s not exactly true, the Revolution was never over the tax on tea, but rather colonial fear of “slavery.” Liberty and slavery – the two most oft repeated words in all of Revolutionary era correspondence. Which is to say, they feared the loss of liberty and subjugation.
The causes of the American Revolution are not quite as trivial as you suggest. Perhaps a brief review is in order. Try: https://www.thoughtco.com/causes-of-the-american-revolution-104860
Perhaps by reminding our citizens (or informing them for the first time) of the history and importance of our national freedoms, how hard won they were, and how awful the consequences of losing them would be, we can get the nation back to sanity and avoid the violent strife that no American should want.
“Perhaps by reminding our citizens (or informing them for the first time) of the history and importance of our national freedoms, how hard won they were, and how awful the consequences of losing them would be, we can get the nation back to sanity and avoid the violent strife that no American should want.”
Unfortunately I am nearly convinced that the vast majority of those “citizens” are immune to any such education. They have become addicted to the distribution of “bread and circuses”. As long as the flow continues, they will remain blissfully appeased, and when it stops, they will become angry and riot. Consideration of the fact that those “bread and circuses” represent value that the government has robbed from more productive individuals will never occur to most of them, and the few who are aware of that will likely revel in the knowledge.
So now the Justice Department is the Thought Police. Positively Orwellian.
*SENATOR KEELEY
The conversion therapy psyop should render you without a conscience or insane or both. It’s a fluid lobotomy. I just like the word fluid now.
“I don’t think [Trump] cares about democracy, only power.” (Judge Walton)
More Leftist projection.
Sam,
Exactly.
So, we are not living in a police state, we are living in a “narrative state”. The State determines the narratives the rest of us can believe and expound. Once that is rigorously enforced, they will leave us alone.
Erwardmahl,
So it is in our best interest in the name of freedom to not ignore their narrative, but to point it out and criticize it. To mock it. To argue against it.
Let Freedom ring!!!!
“Gee, Grandpa. How did things get so bad?”
“Well, I did my part. I mocked it.”
Reminder: “Hands Up Don’t Shoot” was a complete lie amplified by the Media.
“{Defendant] has used these platforms to publish and view extremist media. Imposing the requested [monitoring] conditions would protect the public from further dissemination of misinformation . . .”
This case amounts to:
We got you on jaywalking. Now, about those crimes against the State . . .
Let’s start by saying we don’t have first amendment rights! The first amendment says; “Congress shall make no law”, which is a curtailment of the power of the Union of the States assembled in “Congress”, which has enormous unchecked power, as long as the States act together as the Union.
With that being said, we must consider the failures of government which led to the 1/6 insurrection, that you insist on calling a riot, which only exposed the defects in the current embodiment of our governing system. Let’s start with the false premise associated with this incident, that the sitting president held a rally to try to incite his supporters to storm the Capitol to interrupt, or otherwise interfere with, the certification of election results that he believed were in error because he contended that he should have won the election if it were not for election corruption in a few key States.
What’s the fallacy in this whole argument on both sides?
The huge fallacy is how we elect the president in the United States! You cannot “run” for president in the United States, and the only way to get in the ballot is to be identified and vetted by an elector to place on one of their two ballots. And furthermore, the Presidency cannot be won! Their there is no party nomination process to secure a place on the Ballot, and the ballots of the electors are not the ballot that is used to determine the choice for President, the electors are only responsible for providing a list of persons for their State’s to be considered by all the States in Congress for the States to determine a choice by vote, 1 vote per State, and a majority of All the States is necessary to the choice. And it’s the electors themselves who certify that every name on their State’s lists meets the requirements for holding office, and that at least one of each elector’s choices is a person who resides in a state other than the elector themselves.
There is no way any State can know who the electors are that were appointed by any other States, and there is no way for the electors of any State can know who the electors of any other State are considering to put on their State’s list, because all the electors must be chosen at the same time, and must assemble on the same day to give their votes, a day which must be the same in every State.
These factors which must be complied with form a double blind and indirect process which cannot be interfered with, cannot be influenced, and cannot be corrupted, and no one knows the national implications because the list are sealed and transmitted to the seat of government directed to the President of the Senate where they are opened and compiled in congress, so only the electors in each State know the details of their own State’s list, and only Congress knows the details of the aggregate list of electors choices.
My point is, that when our electoral process to elect the president is operated properly, Trump couldn’t even know he was being considered, even George Washington didn’t know, although he was reasonably sure, that he was being considered and that they wanted to make him president, but even then Washington was 1 of 12 persons who were identified by the 69 electors from 10 States, and yes, Washington was on one of every electors two ballots, which was unanimous, but the 5 electors from the State of Georgia voted for 5 different people, so obviously Washington was not every elector’s first choice.
Without the knowledge of election results from an improperly held election, Trump couldn’t have disputed the election results, could not have held a rally to incite his supporters to storm the capital in an effort to disrupt the unconstitutional certification of election results, and there wouldn’t have been a 1/6 insurrection at all!
So who’s responsible for the 1/6 insurrection?
We all are because we are allowing this Party Governing Era to persists! Competitive politics is not democracy, or any other democratic or republican form of government, especially because it lacks a due dependence on, and a due responsibility to, ALL THE PEOPLE!
STOP WASTING YOUR TIME ANALYZING THE EFFECTS OF FALLACIES!
There was no insurrection. There was Nancy Pelosi orchestrating a riot. If there was an insurrection, the people in congress would be dead along with their staffs. The Capitol police unlocked the doors. Once they did that and let people wander around, the game was over. There were agitators in the crowd whipping others up. Ray Epps for one. Donald Trump explicitly told the crowd to go peacefully to the Capitol because they were the people of law and order. To your next point that Trump couldn’t have known if he had won or not. If you watched the election on TV it was in your face vote switching. You could watch in real time votes disappearing from Trump’s total and placed in Biden’s totals. Vote totals don’t go down. Hundreds if not thousands of sworn statements from poll workers detailing the fraud. Video of the same ballots being run again and again. Ballot boxes being stuffed. Voting machines connected to the Internet. And then to top it all off – anyone who challenged the fraud was told they did not have standing.
“So who’s responsible for the 1/6 insurrection?”
“STOP WASTING YOUR TIME ANALYZING THE EFFECTS OF FALLACIES!”
More proof that irony is truly wasted when the IQ is double digit.
There was no insurrection, nincompoop.
If there was, the insurrectionists would be in jail, on charges of insurrection.
I reject your reality and substitute my own
—-anonymous spastic idiot
Way to totally fvck your own credibility before leaving the starting block.
I just revel in your totally senseless attack on me personally! Thanks, I hit a nerve!
Sadistic?
Another incorrect decision by the Left Wing Democrat controlled DC Court. If Trump is elected the DC Court needs to be reviewed. Take away rights of anyone that disagrees with the Woke/Radical Democrat anti-Constitutional Rights.
I have no faith that an enBache hearing would result in a different outcome. In fact I have greater faith that it would result in a violation of probation issue for merely daring to appeal…………
I woke up this morning, grabbed my first of many coffees, read this post, and wondered how I went to bed thinking I was in the USA and woke up in Russia.
Mockracy in action.
I passionately agree with Judge Walton that false narratives should be subject to the control of his court. I volunteer to monitor the New York Times; my per diem is $2000. This will not leave me time to monitor the Washington Post or CNN or the Wall Street Journal, so I suggest that others petition the Court to act as its surrogates. These people need to be punished and controlled in a way that prevents future damage. Prior restraints should also be provided for judges and justices that promote false narratives, starting with Judge Walton. Respectfully submitted.
Let me get this straight, Anonymous, are you actually advocating for the censorship of speech and expression of thought in the United States?
-John Underwood, Tyler, TX
Nah, I think he is basically saying that the media disseminates false narratives all the time. So if citizens should be monitored, so should the media.
Karen Ann-I think you nailed it. It’s that Goose and Gander thing.
John underwear
Way to step up and admit you have reading comprehension issues.