Virginia Democrats are moving to require teachers to tell students that Jan. 6th was an “insurrection” and effectively bar them from referencing “peaceful protests” or election irregularities. The characterization of the riot as an insurrection is historically and legally false. However, any parents who want to send their children to Virginia public schools would have to accept this form of indoctrination as part of their children’s education.
In the last election, Democrats campaigned as moderates, including Abigail Spanberger. Once in control of the Governor’s mansion and the legislature, however, they have moved quickly to the far left in a flurry of measures. Democratic legislators just voted themselves almost a 300% increase in salaries. They will need it. They are moving to increase taxes on ride shares, concerts, counseling, leaf blowers, Amazon deliveries, DoorDash, Uber Eats, ammunition, and other areas.
However, HB 333, drafted by Del. Dan I. Helmer of Fairfax, raises serious concerns over academic freedom and free speech.
The summary of the bill mandates “a program of instruction on or relating to the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the United States Capitol” and further:
“prohibits any such program of instruction, any accompanying curriculum or instructional materials, or any instruction provided by a teacher as a part of such program of instruction from (i) describing, portraying, or presenting as credible a description or portrayal of the actions precipitating or involved in the January 6, 2021, insurrection as peaceful protest or (ii) stating, suggesting, or presenting as credible a statement or suggestion that there was extensive election fraud that could have changed or actually changed the results of the 2020 presidential election. The bill requires any such program of instruction, any accompanying curriculum or instructional materials, or any instruction provided by a teacher as a part of such program of instruction to describe the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the United States Capitol as an unprecedented, violent attack on U.S. democratic institutions, infrastructure, and representatives for the purpose of overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election.”
Soon after Jan. 6th, I condemned the riot but rejected the argument that this was an insurrection. However, it soon became part of an orthodoxy in politics and academia despite the fact that the public rejected it. As former House Speaker Pelosi declared, “It is essential that we preserve the narrative of January 6th.”
Yet, “insurrection” and “sedition” are legal terms. They have a meaning. The FBI investigated thousands after January 6th and charged hundreds. Not one was charged with insurrection or conspiracy to overthrow the country. The vast majority are charged with relatively minor offenses of trespass or unlawful entry or property damage- the type of charges that are common in protests and riots.
Indeed, the Supreme Court effectively reduced many of the charges to mere trespass in later litigation, rejecting obstruction claims.
Faced with a collapsing historical and legal narrative, Democrats are now moving to simply indoctrinate students that this was an “insurrection.”
Notably, Helmer is running again for Congress after Democrats, with the support of Gov. Spanberger, moved to reduce Republicans in the state (which is divided down the middle between the parties) to just one of eleven districts through gerrymandering.
Helmer is running in one of the most notorious new districts, called the “lobster” or the “scorpion,” because it runs from the Potomac River in Arlington southwestward, then splits into two “claws” toward the West Virginia line near Rawley Springs and Goochland and Powhatan.
In my book, Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution, I discuss the radicalization of the American left. While many on the left advocate censoring “disinformation,” they are far less circumspect in promulgating their own disinformation.
Likewise, where Democrats have objected to the pressure put on universities for greater diversity of viewpoints as an attack on academic freedom, these Democrats see no problem in mandating the teaching of positions that are demonstrably false.
Here, Rep. Helmer and other Democrats are mandating the teaching of a false narrative to children rather than simply relying on public debate. The reason is that they are losing the debate over the characterization of this riot as an actual insurrection.
This, and other moves on the left, will only accelerate the exodus of families from public education. Notably, Fairfax County (which Helmer represents) has seen a sharp fall in enrollments in recent years.
Pbinca tried The Democrat Big Lie It was a lawyerly coup plotted over the course of 6 weeks to circumvent the control of state voters over their state’s Electoral votes
Pbinca… you have no more shred of credibility pushing your Democrat party’s 2020 Election Big Lie than your fellow radical Democrat X does. But let’s test your credibility! Ready?
1. There was over a YEAR of Clinton, Obama, Biden and the DNC working to illegally commission the felonious and fictional “Trump-Russia Dossier” – and then sending the administration’s Attorney Generals and FBI Directors to perjure themselves to Judge Boasberg’s FISA courts, testifying under oath that their “Dossier” was 100% verified evidence collected by intelligence agencies. Claiming there was no alternate evidence that it was anything other than truthful, and it proved Trump was colluding with Putin to fix the 2016 election.
Now, when the president, vice-president, their Attorney Generals and FBI Directors – all lawyers – engage in a criminal conspiracy like their “Dossier” to fix the 2016 election for Clinton… and then after that fails use it in an attempt to take out the president, here’s your credibility/honesty test:
Was it a “lawyerly coup plotted over the course of MONTHS’, to attempt to eliminate an opponent to prevent the USA’s voters from electing their Republican opponent?
That’s a fair question, because a quick search of all of your posts here on Professor Turley’s blog turns up nothing but you posting that none of that ever happened; it was apparently all legitimate Executive Branch enforcement of law. No felony payments to Russian spies to write political lies. No felony money laundering of payment to foreign spies through Democrat lawyers. No Attorney Generals and FBI Directors repeatedly going before FISA courts to perjure themselves and utter false documents (the “dossier”) to those courts.
Pbinca… explain to everybody what your definition of a “lawyerly coup” is, where you repeatedly claim Trump attempted one but Obama (and later Biden) didn’t.
Got credibility, pbinca?
Takipteyim kaliteli ve güzel bir içerik olmuş dostum.
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Here’s what I do and how you can too………… https://lnk.ua/tEAxR7FfS
So Virginia going to teach lies to the children instead of facts? I guess they will teach the George Floyd riots as peaceful protesting and the summer of love too. I am glad I have none of my kids going through school today. I don’t need them learning lies when all the footage from that event says otherwise.
One of my major gripes with Donald Trump in his first term was when he repeatedly called the many protests against the murder of George Floyd “riots,” when over 9,300 of those protests had no crime and no arrests. About 700 had rioting, and even most of those were peaceful protests during the day, and only had rioting in the evening or early morning after most protesters had gone home.
One of my major gripes with Donald Trump in his first term was when he repeatedly called the many protests against the murder of George Floyd “riots,” when over 9,300 of those protests had no crime and no arrests. About 700 had rioting, and even most of those were peaceful protests during the day, and only had rioting in the evening or early morning after most protesters had gone home.
While the bill calls it an insurrection, the text absolutely does not state that it needs to be referred to as one. It says it must indicate it was a violent (objectively true) unprecedented (objectively true) attack on U.S. democratic institutions, infrastructure, and representatives for the purpose of overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election. (all objectively true).
The fact that people want to live in some fantasy world where it was peaceful and justified has no bearing on any of this.
The protest was not unprecedented (leftists BOMBED the Capitol in 1971 and 1983), not an attack on any of the things you mention, not an attempt to overturn an election but a protest against obvious irregularities that are still coming to light e.g. in Georgia, and the most violence was perpetrated against one of the protesters, Ashli Babbitt, who was also the only person killed that day.
Nancy Pelosi has repeated taken personal responsibility for the lapse in security on that day, after Trump tried to get her to accept National Guard troops in advance of the protest.
Also, this would be the first “insurrection” in history whose goal was NOT the replacement of a sovereign government by force of arms, but the continuation of the SAME government without interruption, with the SAME leaders remaining in office, demanded by UNARMED CIVILIANS.
Other than that, you’re doing great.
One of my major gripes with Donald Trump in his first term was when he repeatedly called the many protests against the murder of George Floyd “riots,” when over 9,300 of those protests had no crime and no arrests. About 700 had rioting, and even most of those were peaceful protests during the day, and only had rioting in the evening or early morning after most protesters had gone home.
Hopefully they’ll explain that Biden got more votes than any other president, way more than Obama. They should also state emphatically Joe and Hunter did not in fact each take $5 million dollar bribe from Ukraine. They should also teach that Hunter’s laptop was 100% Russian induced, as Hunter is a proud Yale Law grad, in good standing, and perhaps a future president! They should also teach that every J6 prisoner was charged with sedition and insurrection. They can also include that Joe had no classified documents in his house and in Philly for the Chinese to see. They need to make it clear than no foreign money made it to any of the 12 Biden family members, ever.
Any other fairly tales you’d like to add? The Easter Bunny is real maybe?
Skirted the issue of election fraud totally. Is Turley opposed to teaching there was none and Trump’s continuing campaign asserting as much in addition to being one of the most corrosive lies threatening our democracy in the history of the nation has been totally unequivocally repeatedly proven false.
“Skirted the issue of . . .”
That “skirting” is in fact good thinking and clear writing, since whether there was fraud is *not* the subject of his article.
He disputes the insurrection aspect of January 6 and claims it’s supression of free speech to deny other less egregious motives of the transgressions of the perpetrators while simultaneously ignoring the alledged root cause and basis of the riot is a proven falsehood still perpetuated by a proven liar to this day. That’s not clear writing it’s gaslighting.
I Quit My Office Job and Found Freedom Online: Here’s My Story The office environment was draining me emotionally and physically, so I decided to make a change. Now, I work online and earn 85 per hour doing what I love. It wasn’t an easy journey, but two years later, I can proudly say my life has changed for the better!
Here’s what I do and how you can too……… https://lnk.ua/tEAxR7FfS
“I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
– President Donald J. Trump, January 6, 2021
” ….and I hope Mike is going to do the right thing. I hope so. I hope so.
Because if Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election. All he has to do, all this is, this is from the number one, or certainly one of the top, Constitutional lawyers in our country. ” (on-air admission of the coup plot)
(John Eastman, architect, who privately admitted to skeptic lawyers that his idea for the Presiding Officer over the Joint Session rejecting the Electoral College vote would lose in the Supreme Court 9-0).
To Trump, a coup plot defiling the Constitution is just his lawyers “doing lawyer things”. In other words, rules are for weaklings to follow….the strong cheat to win.
There’s no Republic left if that becomes the mindset.
Oh, and Joe Biden was a terrible President. How stupid were Americans to vote for such a loser grifter! But that’s what they did. Denying it makes you as dishonest as both Biden and Trump.
Pence is a rubber stamp. Just stamp the papers at the State level and save time.
pbinca wrote (on-air admission of the coup plot)
Pbinca’s secret Super Power: an inability to feel embarrassment or shame. So once again we have our dear pbinca with The Democrat Big Lie: I, pbinca, declare along with Biden that the 2020 election was the most transparent and fairest election in history!
Other than your hatred of young American women being allowed their Second Amendment rights, do you have any comments to make about the ACTUAL coup plot that was the felonious and fictional Clinton/Obama/Biden/DNC “Russia Dossier”?
You’re just as bad a Cheap Fake American as your fellow plotters using the Russia Dossier to first fix an election, and then to take out a duly elected president.
“We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”
– President Donald J. Trump, January 6, 2021
From December, 11, 2020
SCOTUS Rejects Trump’s Election Claims
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday night rejected an eleventh hour challenge to Joe Biden’s election as president.
The court’s action came in a one-page order, which said the complaint was denied “for lack of standing.”
Texas, supported by President Trump, tried to sue Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin and Michigan, claiming fraud, without evidence. But in order for a state to bring a case in court, especially the Supreme Court, a state must show it has been injured. In essence, the court said Texas could not show that it was injured by the way other states conducted their elections.
Barring unforeseen events, the result of the court’s action is that on Monday, the Electoral College delegates in each state will cast their ballots, and Biden will formally become the president-elect, with only one more step, in the House of Representatives where the Electoral College votes are certified, before he is sworn in on Jan. 20.
https://www.npr.org/2020/12/11/945617913/supreme-court-shuts-door-on-trump-election-prospects
………………………………………
Had Trump been a real statesman, who cared about the country and constitution, this was the logical moment to concede the election. Beyond this point, Donald Trump was fomenting an insurrection.
WINNING!
^ Chinese Communist Party bot (not human). Ignore. ^
Oooooohhhhh….NPR! The ones who brought us YEARS of “The Russia Dossier proves Trump colluded with Putin to steal the election”.
Not a single story on how many times Obama/Biden sent their Attorney Generals and FBI Directors to FISA courts to perjure themselves, using their fictional and felonious Danchenko-Russia Dossier to obtain illegal spy warrants to deprive tens of thousands of Americans of their civil rights.
NPR… if they were REAL journalists who cared about the country, they wouldn’t have been part of the fifth column attempting to support the Obama/Biden/Clinton insurrection in 2016 and then again in 2020.
“53 Dems vote against declaring Iran a state sponsor of terror”
“Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley among 53 Democrats opposing nonbinding House measure”
– Fox News
______________
53 Democrats are guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt of “…adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Article 3, Section 3
Treason against the United States, shall consist…in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.
That is why there is growing number of people, when at all possible, are taking their children out of public schools. What a shame!
Oh, a “growing number of people”? Call me when the number reaches 30 Million home schoolers.
Trump Was Still Railing At Pence ‘After’ After Capitol Was Breached
Trump did not speak to Pence during the riot, even after learning that the Secret Service had ushered him to a secure location under the Capitol plaza. Their last call came at 11:20 that morning, when Trump urged Pence to refuse to count Biden’s electors and Pence subsequently declined.
Trump publicly expressed outrage at Pence during the riot via a 2:24 p.m. tweet.
“Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution,” he said, igniting a fresh wave of anger among the crowd that had breached the Capitol.
Trump’s tweet arrived 10 minutes after rioters had first broken into the Capitol through a Senate-wing window, and it was posted four minutes before Pence arrived at the secure Capitol location where he holed up with his security team for hours.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/25/trump-expressed-support-hanging-pence-capitol-riot-jan-6-00035117
……………………………………
If this wasn’t an insurrection, Trump was essentially one of the rioters. The mere fact that Trump was still denouncing Pence ‘after’ the Capitol was breached indicates that Trump had no regard for Pence, Congress ‘or’ the police. And it is absolutely shocking that Trump has never had to answer, under oath, for his actions that day. So for Turley to claim this was ‘only’ a riot completely ignores Trump’s constitutional negligence.
Turley knows all of this, but his patrons don’t want that message to be the one being broadcast. They are paying good money to cause the collapse of the US government into a monarchy.
Sometimes I wonder if Turley is even writing these columns.
Turley probably doesn’t write this garbage.
He has ghost writers at Fox and NY Post, both owned by Rupert Murdoch, who almost certainly pays him well, and also pays Darren Smith to maintain the website. Turley has not monetized the blog, so I can’t imagine that he pays for this out of a professor’s salary while living in an expensive Virginia suburb of DC, and having 4 kids in college, one of whom is attending a private medical school.
I know with certainty that the garbage he posts regarding the supposed subversion of elite universities by liberals is mostly cut and paste from the The College Fix, a right wing organization set up by Trump’s former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos for the specific purpose of undermining the private education system.
A couple of years ago I noticed that Turley had simply cut and paste an article from College Fix, written by one of the editors, Dave Huber. It was a verbatim cut and paste. I emailed Huber to tell him that Turley had plagiarized his piece, and he replied that Turley was a “good friend of The College Fix” and they allowed him to simply cut and paste. Ever since then, I noticed that Turley’s articles about colleges are careful re-writes of College Fix pieces to make it look like they are not cut and paste.
This makes me wonder if he is also taking money from Betsy DeVos, and maybe the writers at College Fix are really re-writing their pieces for Turley to publish.
Thanks for the lowdown.
Interesting. I will need to keep an eye on that.
As I said, ever since I emailed Dave Huber about Turley cut and pasting verbatim from The College Fix, I have noted that Turley’s versions are now careful re-writes of College Fix articles to try to conceal the fact that this is where Turley’s articles originate.
However, you can still tell that Turley’s articles originate from College Fix.
Whenever he posts one of his stupid articles about liberals taking over colleges, the same story will have run on College Fix a day or two prior.
Turley’s version is usually a bit of a re-write, but the stories are always factually similar with the same flow, but worded slightly differently, and with the same quotes from sources.
The real giveaway is that there is sometimes unusual punctuation and grammatical errors in the College Fix article that are repeated in Turley’s article. This is the real giveaway of what is going on here. The stories are similar, but the punctuation and grammatical errors that get repeated are a dead giveaway.
I, too, wonder.
PT, what I miss most is private property and generosity.
Wishing all the best
“I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
– President Donald J. Trump, January 6, 2021
“We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore”
– President Donald J. Trump, January 6, 2021
The rationale for public school: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”
The very antithesis of the constitutional American thesis of freedom and self-reliance; the antithesis of American fundamental law, which could not be more unconstitutional.
Americans enjoy the natural and God-given rights and freedoms to direct the lives and educations of their children per the 9th and 14th Amendments, and their constitutional rights and freedoms may not be denied by states.
Parents enjoy the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and shall not be discriminated against by being compelled to pay taxes for an education system they decline and do not use and by being compelled to pay twice for the education of their children when others are compelled to pay only once.
AI Overview
“As of early 2026, no one has been charged with or convicted of the specific federal crime of “insurrection” (18 U.S.C. § 2383) in connection with the January 6 Capitol attack.”
So Google AI calls Jan 6 an “attack.”
Irrefutably, Jan 6 was definitively a riot at worst.
First: I thought it is settled law that the government cannot compel speech. The Dems proposed law seems to violate that principle.
Second: There was a real attempted insurrection at the Capitol when I was a youngster by a group of Puerto Rican Nationalists who were shooting real guns from the Gallery. Are the Dems going to erase the PR Insurrection & substitute the MAGA Disorder in its place?
The government compels speech every time it selects a textbook.
“Are the Dems going to erase the PR Insurrection & substitute the MAGA Disorder in its place?”
Was that attack led by the President of the United States against the US Congress?
Shabbat shalom everyone ☺️
Have a peaceful sabbath.
U 2, Kansas 🙂
And you as well.
Anonymous, Biden continued the Trump tariff after he won the presidency.
A little fact that you prefer to gloss over. MASA (Make America Stupid Again)
Markets hate instability and changing things like tariffs without consideration makes things unstable, just like Trump is.
Hear, hear!
The Supreme Court is eminently and incorrigibly unstable-cum-bizarre.
Routinely, nearly half the justices decide the other half is completely wrong.
Very Well said, Prof. Turley…!! it’ amazing that we are at this point where this has to be said at all! i.e., that we are at this point where Evil in the form of Spanish Inquisition types.. or to put it in a more modern context, Josef Goebbels types, are being elected to any public office in a ‘free society’ where people are given the Grace to think for themselves.. yet end up electing those who would insist on etching their demonic spin into the public mind as a ‘law…’ I ask how this is possible.. then remember all the Brutal Ad Campaigns that are paid for by all the ss 0 r 0 ss spin-offs camping out in Virginia… showing that lies told often enough are believed by those not paying attention……
MAGAs ignore that most of the propaganda taught in public schools is of conservative ideology. Very Ra-Ra Go USA patriotic. History is taught from the perspective of white Europeans. An idolized version of US government is presented. The vast majority of evils acts the US has committed is ignored or glossed over. The only “woke” ideology is the notion that one should treat everyone else with respect, and that is a MAGA mortal sin.
Danny says RA-RA China!!
WOKE doesn’t treat everyone else with respect- MORON!!
@K – don’t feed the trolls – and don’t be led into behaving as one. The more appropriate response would have been:
Woke doesn’t treat anyone else with respect!!
You’re right Danny. The history in schools doesn’t tell us that the North Dakota Sioux often waged war with the South Dakota Sioux and captured their women to make them slaves. Their wives were very happy because the slaves from the South Dakota ment that they wouldn’t have to do any work. The practice was among both tribes. The real prizes in these skirmishes was the horses stolen. The horses were used to move from one location to another when the game ran out. They killed each other to get the slave women and horses.
If they didn’t move quickly enough they ate some fine horse flesh. It would be appreciated if you could provide evidence of your degree in the subject of history since you seem to know so much about it.
Otherwise we must come to the conclusion that you are just parroting what someone else told you.
Lots of Squawk. Squawk white man bad! Squawk white man bad! Where’s my cracker?
White men knew better and had alternatives. But, for them, slavery was about money and money was more important to them than the freedom they claimed for themselves.
Another little piece of history for you.
Yes, Native Americans did scalp other Native Americans, a practice that existed in North America long before European arrival as a form of war trophy-taking, ceremonial action, or proof of bravery. While often associated with conflicts involving white settlers, tribal warfare frequently included scalping enemies, such as Pawnees by Sioux or Kiowas. Put that in your peace pipe and smoke it.
The lore about American Indians has been romanticized (mostly by Hollywood) out of any resemblance at all to reality. They had a Stone Age culture that in many cases was brutal (which in such a culture can be a necessary trait for survival). I will not contend that equity and justice prevailed in every instance of white men holding power over those people, I’m certain there were plenty of abuses. The bottom line is that there were two cultures that were extremely unlike one another in terms of self-image and behavior mores. One culture was early(ish) Industrial Age, the other was Stone Age, and conflict between them, and the outcome of that conflict, were well nigh inevitable.
TIT has a couple of beautiful points!
Savages.
Danny, my fellow Democrat Furry Tranny, you express race-bating Democrat Cultural Marxism so beautifully. Let’s go trans some school children in the name of the movement!
Let’s allow the Supreme Court to decide that free Americans do not enjoy the constitutional right and freedom to direct the education of their children, that their children have been seized and subsumed by the state for brainwashing, and that their constitutional rights may be denied.
I’ll bet those idiots would do it after they demolished America’s budget and Trump’s tariffs while Congress approved of the tariffs it has the power to impose by deliberate omission.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
AI Overview
“Congress did not “approve” the tariffs, but the House of Representatives did effectively allow them to remain in place through deliberate inaction. While the Senate repeatedly voted to block them, the House leadership’s refusal to hold similar votes prevented any unified legislative check on the President’s actions until the Supreme Court finally intervened on February 20, 2026.”