I’m not sure what the bar to clear to prove a sedition charge is but I’m guessing its not a low one (nor should it be). The trespass, damage and theft charges for the majority of the mob are the low-hanging fruit, and when you’re dealing with 500 potential criminals you want to deal with the minor minions while you’re building the harder cases for the ringleaders.
It’s possible we may still see a sedition charge or two happen but only after they’ve leveraged testimony from the mindless followers of the day.
Reporters are very protective of their unpublished work product as it may contain clues to sources or to their methods for getting information.
If the sources are exposed they may be reluctant in the future. And leaks or other conduits of information could be plugged up.
IMHO the mob on Jan 6 was intent on insurrection and sedition. But if that’s hard to prove, then fine - throw the book at them for all the lesser charges. Biden, Garland and the DOJ are walking a very narrow political path, and I don’t blame them for caution. They want to make sure they get slam-dunk convictions, and they also want to make sure that it doesn’t look like they’re punishing their political opponents – something unprecedented in American history, and let’s keep it that way.
This is an explanation of why these defendants are not being prosecuted to the “full extent of the law,” though; specifically, it is not clear what the full extent of the law as applied to sedition really is.
So I think you’re all sort of agreeing that they aren’t bringing cases with scarier sounding words on the top-line charge because it isn’t clear they could make those charges stick. It’s just that this is a little different from saying there’s no other law they could charge under.
I understand a journalist’s need to protect his sources, but does he have a different obligation (either ethically and legally) for events that he witnessed (or photographed, or videoed) personally?
The legal aspects of it are complex. I’ll point you toward this resource on reporter’s privilege. Unfortunately, any quotes I pulled from it would be misleading because of all the nuances and caveats (or maybe one of the resident lawyers could do a better job summarizing than I can).
A journalist’s ethical obligation isn’t much simpler. They have an ethical obligation to their profession to maintain neutrality and confidentiality. They have an ethical obligation to society to prevent harm. Those can often conflict, especially when the definition of “harm” depends on your personal views.
A reporter would not be betraying sources or violating her professional integrity if she complied with a subpoena. If the Feds think her cellphone video is likely to helpful in their investigation, they can always go to a judge to seek that subpoena.
Here’s the Sedition Hunters website. It’s a much better layout than the FBI’s site, it feels like they’re actually trying to catch these people. I think it’s keeping the pressure on the FBI, I bet they’d be half-assing the identification process even more than they are now without the assistance these private groups.
And it’s worth noting that this site, as well as other sites like Reddit’s Capitol Consequences forum are heavily moderated and have strict rules against doxxing or speculating on the identity of the suspects. If you recognize someone, you are asked to contact the FBI directly.
And if you want to track the status of cases, here’s a tracking site that’s way easier to use than NPR or the government websites.
And another thing…
The police officer who shot insurrectionist Ashli Babbitt is scheduled to do a sit down with Lester Holt:
“For months, former President Donald Trump and other leading MAGA figures have called for the outing of the police officer who fatally shot pro-Trump rioter Ashli Babbitt during the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6. This week, they are finally getting their wish—but the officer appears to be doing so on his own terms.
On Wednesday, NBC announced that NBC News anchor Lester Holt will “sit down in an exclusive interview with the U.S. Capitol Police officer responsible for shooting and killing protestor Ashli Babbitt while defending the U.S. House Chamber.” The NBC release stated that the interview is currently set to air at 6:30 p.m. ET Thursday on NBC Nightly News , and does not identify the officer.”
