I have been referring to the January 6^th ‘insurrection’ by what I believe to be the proper term: the Capitol kerfuffle. But Attorney General Merrick Garland, his hatred for Republicans continually seething ever since then Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) denied him a seat on the Supreme Court, and doubtlessly at the urging of President Joe Biden, has been pursuing the kerfufflers with as much savagery as he can muster. From The New York Times:

A Texas family joins the list of more than 500 people arrested in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

By Alan Feuer | July 13, 2021 | 4:10 PM EDT

Among the more than 500 people arrested so far in the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, there have been several married couples and any number of parent-and-children teams. There have even been sets of siblings charged.



The Munn family. Photo by Department of Justice. Blacked out face is of uncharged minor member of the family. Click to enlarge.

On Tuesday, however, in what seemed to be the first move of its kind, the Justice Department unsealed a complaint against almost the entire Munn family of Texas, accusing the father, the mother and three of their children of illegally breaching the Capitol through a broken window.

Prosecutors say that Thomas Munn, the family’s patriarch, began writing about going to Washington for a pro-Trump rally in late December, posting an image on Facebook with a caption reading, “POTUS HAS REQUESTED YOUR ATTENDANCE WASHINGTON DC JANUARY 6TH 2021.”

Then on Jan. 5, court papers say, Mr. Munn posted another Facebook image showing what appears to be the family’s car and trailer on the road from their home in Borger, Texas. A homemade sign is visible on the back of the trailer reading, “D.C. Bound We are Q,” in an apparent reference to the QAnon conspiracy theory.

According to the complaint, the Munn parents and their children Dawn, Joshua and Kayli entered the Capitol through a broken window at around 2:25 p.m. on Jan. 6 and took what amounted to a brief tour of the building, breaking nothing and harming no one. Afterward, court papers say, they all posed for a photo with another family member — a minor child — who was not charged in the case. The exact ages of the children were not released.

The charged family members were arrested in Borger on Tuesday and could not be immediately reached for comment. A lawyer had yet to file an appearance in their case .

Prosecutors say that investigators tracked the family down with the help of a tipster and interviews with at least three of the Munn children’s teachers. The F.B.I. also obtained private Facebook conversations that some members of the family had with their friends.

Here is the government’s claim:

The Munn family are charged with four counts:

• 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(1) – Knowingly Entering or Remaining in any Restricted Building or Grounds Without Lawful Authority. Since the Munns are not accused of harming anyone or carrying a deadly weapon, the maximum punishment under (b)(2) is a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, in any other case.
• 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(2) – Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds. Since the Munns are not accused of harming anyone or carrying a deadly weapon, the maximum punishment under (b)(2) is a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, in any other case.
• 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(D) – Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building: utter loud, threatening, or abusive language, or engage in disorderly or disruptive conduct, at any place in the Grounds or in any of the Capitol Buildings with the intent to impede, disrupt, or disturb the orderly conduct of a session of Congress or either House of Congress, or the orderly conduct in that building of a hearing before, or any deliberations of, a committee of Congress or either House of Congress; The penalty for violating 40 U.S.C. §5104(e)(2) is a misdemeanor conviction punishable by a maximum fine of $5,000 fine or up to six months in prison, or both.
• 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(G) – Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building; The penalty for violating 40 U.S.C. §5104(e)(2) is a misdemeanor conviction punishable by a maximum fine of $5,000 or up to six months in prison, or both.

So, let me get this straight: the feds spent half a year investigating the Munns, “tracked the family down with the help of a tipster and interviews with at least three of the Munn children’s teachers. The F.B.I. also obtained private Facebook conversations that some members of the family had with their friends,” all to get four misdemeanor charges, with no claim that any of them did anything violent, or destroyed any property?

So, what will the feds get out of this? The only person actually convicted and sentenced took a plea bargain, and received probation, with no jail time, though she was held in jail for two days before she made bail.

Anna Morgan-Lloyd, a 49-year-old hair salon owner, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a capitol building, which carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail and a $5,000 fine. Washington, D.C., District Judge Royce Lamberth also ordered her to complete 40 hours of community service and pay $500 in restitution.

Basically, she got nothing. Her conviction is a misdemeanor, not a felony, so she will not lose her right to vote for Republicans or keep and bear arms. Mrs Morgan-Lloyd received a sentence commensurate with the seriousness of her offense, which was: not very.

It also set the standard: Mrs Morgan-Lloyd was made to apologize, in exchange for her plea bargain:

Prior to sentencing, prosecutors said they found the sentence “appropriate,” despite what they called Morgan-Lloyd’s initial “ill-considered and misguided commentary,” in part because there was no evidence that she preplanned her attack or incited others, and because she worked with investigators, admitted to her actions, and expressed contrition.

Before receiving her sentence, Morgan-Lloyd tearfully apologized to the court for participating in what she called a “disgraceful” day.

“I went there to show support for President Trump peacefully, and I’m ashamed that it became a savage display of violence that day,” Morgan-Lloyd said.

She did not face any major charges for her role. The day after her sentencing, Mrs Morgan-Lloyd pretty much walked back everything she said in her ‘tearful’ apology.

Anna Morgan-Lloyd, the first defendant sentenced in the attack, told Fox News that she personally saw no violence on Jan. 6.

“Where I was at, we see nobody damage anything. People were actually very polite,” Morgan-Lloyd told Fox host Laura Ingraham.

The interview comes a day after Morgan-Lloyd said in court that she felt ashamed for the “savage display of violence” on Jan. 6. The Bloomfield woman traveled to D.C. that day with her friend Dona Sue Bissey for then-President Donald Trump’s rally before following the mob inside the Capitol for an estimated 10 minutes.

Essentially the same thing with which the Munn family are charged.

So, the Munn family will have to make ‘heartfelt apologies,’ which they will subsequently recant after sentencing. Yet the government will have spent more in manhours investigating this little bit of nothing. And you can bet your bottom dollar that the Biden Administration will get nothing but hatred and contempt from the Munn family and all of their friends.

On Christmas Day of 1868, President Andrew Johnson, who was not re-elected after having failed to be re-nominated, issued a blanket pardon for all remaining Confederate officeholders. An earlier pardon, in July, covered all Confederates who were not already under indictment, meaning that only Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and a few others, faced any possibility of trial.

On May 10, 1865, Mr Davis was captured by Union soldiers in Irwinville Georgia. Sent to Fort Monroe, off Old Point Comfort in Hampton, Virginia, he was imprisoned in a fortress casement, in leg irons ordered by General Nelson Miles. His health deteriorating, he was removed from leg irons and the conditions of his captivity improved. He was indicted on charges of treason, but though the Congress wanted a treason trial, there were many worriers in the North that the legal process of a trial could somehow declare secession to be constitutional. From Wikipedia:

After two years of imprisonment, Davis was released on bail of $100,000, which was posted by prominent citizens including Horace Greeley, Cornelius Vanderbilt and Gerrit Smith. (Smith was a member of the Secret Six who financially supported abolitionist John Brown.) Davis went to Montreal, Quebec, to join his family which had fled there earlier, and lived in Lennoxville, Quebec, until 1868, while his son Jefferson Jr. and William attended Bishop’s College School. He also visited Cuba and Europe in search of work. At one stage he stayed as a guest of James Smith, a foundry owner in Glasgow, who had struck up a friendship with Davis when he toured the Southern States promoting his foundry business. Davis remained under indictment until Andrew Johnson issued on Christmas Day of 1868 a presidential “pardon and amnesty” for the offense of treason to “every person who directly or indirectly participated in the late insurrection or rebellion” and after a federal circuit court on February 15, 1869, dismissed the case against Davis after the government’s attorney informed the court that he would no longer continue to prosecute Davis.

Robert E Lee was indicted but never tried, and never imprisoned.

Now, why do I bring this up?

The Civil War lasted for four long years, and resulted in almost a million deaths of soldiers and civilians. The damage to property was immense in the South, where almost all of the war was fought. Yet, after the Confederacy was beaten, the United States imposed very few legal penalties against the people who led and fought for the Confederacy. There was considerable concern that putting the Confederates on trial would greatly hinder reunification.

Yet, today, following the ‘insurrection of January 6^th, we see so many on the left who want to lock up those I call the Capitol kerfufflers for years upon years, for an uncoordinated demonstration in which nobody who was not one of the kerfufflers was killed, and which lasted only a few hours. As an ‘insurrection,’ it makes the Beer Hall Putsch seem like a masterpiece of planning and execution. Elie Mystal of The Nation wanted all of the kerfufflers rounded up and arrested, and was incensed that some were released on bail. Federal prosecutors have been arguing, and in a few cases succeeding, for keeping some of the Putsch leaders in jail, held without bail, even though some accused murderers are allowed to go free on bond. Elwood Dowd wants them all locked up, while Brad Bannon, a Democratic pollster writing in The Hill says that a meaningful investigation “will resurrect democracy.”

Yet somehow, some way, the left are united in their resistance of post election audits, in a race in which millions of people believe that massive fraud occurred. If the left believe that the election was almost completely clean and above board, why would they disapprove of an audit to prove such?

The left, in their all-consuming hatred of Donald Trump, want to treat something about as serious as a keg party which got out of control more harshly than the United States treated the leaders of the Confederacy! All that this can do is further anger the people who supported President Trump and slow any reconciliation between Republicans and Democrats.

Not that all Democrats want such reconciliation in the first place!

The best thing that President Biden could do, now, is to simply issue a blanket amnesty for the kerfufflers. If he does not, the next President – and may he be a Republican elected on November 5, 2024 – should pardon everyone accused, indicted, tried or convicted in the incident!