# US Capitol under siege **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 6, 2021, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-capitol-under-siege/929830 "2021-01-06T20:27:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 36
**Author:** ![split\_p\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@split\_p\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/split_p_j)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-capitol-under-siege/929830/701 "2021-01-11T04:32:48Z")
I think we are talking past each other now. I agree that Biden will be President on January 20. I’m saying MAGA doesn’t, they think they can overthrow it. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-capitol-under-siege/929830/702 "2021-01-11T04:33:48Z")
Dude, please: just drop it. ---
**Author:** ![split\_p\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@split\_p\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/split_p_j)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-capitol-under-siege/929830/703 "2021-01-11T04:34:49Z")
Ok I can see that we are in the no big deal, boys will be boys mode. I’m done. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-capitol-under-siege/929830/704 "2021-01-11T04:49:38Z")
Oh, for Og’s sake. **NO ONE HERE IS SAYING IT’S NO BIG DEAL.** WE ARE SAYING THAT NO MATTER WHAT THEY DO, **IT WON’T WORK.** Several LEO agencies have been humiliated by the events of Wednesday. I suspect they are grimly determined to ensure it doesn’t happen again. What I want to have happen is that the FBI tracks every single one of these assholes down, arrests them, has them charged, tried, and with luck convicted with lengthy sentences. Preferably without any more loss of life. ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-capitol-under-siege/929830/705 "2021-01-11T05:22:35Z")
I have adopted a Deplorable. Cute little fella who needs a home. I call him Bat Bow Boy. He’s a bit naughty, but he didn’t light that cigarette so it’s okay. If you recognize him, please don’t call me; call the FBI. [![](https://i.postimg.cc/m2sP2sBZ/Screen-Shot-2021-01-08-at-9.jpg) ](https://i.postimg.cc/m2sP2sBZ/Screen-Shot-2021-01-08-at-9.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-capitol-under-siege/929830/706 "2021-01-11T05:42:39Z")
They think they’re at Comicon…that’s literally Jack Skellington cosplay. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-capitol-under-siege/929830/707 "2021-01-11T06:16:33Z")
Anybody here feel like, as chaotic, fucked up and stupid this was (all the terrorists deserve to be larryfined), this was far, far closer than it should have been? Will we even be able to do anything to unfuck the system so that something like this is not going to arise again (and maybe succeed due to actual competence) through the lifetimes of our great-grandchildren? Or is it wholly unhardenable? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-capitol-under-siege/929830/708 "2021-01-11T06:37:50Z")
I’ll post it again; be sure and read the follow-up articles as well (links at the end of the article, eh): > **[I Lived Through A Stupid Coup. America Is Having One Now](https://indica.medium.com/i-lived-through-a-coup-america-is-having-one-now-437934b1dac3)** > > You’ve already lost. This is what Americans need to understand ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-capitol-under-siege/929830/709 "2021-01-11T06:38:05Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > If you’re a member of a gang of bank robbers and another gang member kills someone, you can be charged with murder yourself. This was a gang of domestic terrorists engaged in violent sedition (potentially with the intent to commit murder in the first place). What’s the difference? Is it the number of participants? Is it some level of involvement of coordination of the attack? The starting point is to look at the felony murder statute to see what the law is. The federal statute doesn’t say committing “any felony” can trigger felony murder. Only a certain defined list of felonies can be the underlying felony. Guess what? Sedition isn’t included in that list of underlying felonies. Lawyers who have looked at the issue since the riot are saying that they don’t think a felony murder charge would stand. Here’s one such article: > **[Could the Capitol Rioters Really Be Charged with Felony Murder for Death of...](https://lawandcrime.com/legal-analysis/could-the-capitol-rioters-really-be-charged-with-felony-murder-for-death-of-ashli-babbit/)** > > Late Wednesday, the deceased was identified as Air Force veteran and Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt. Babbitt was a California resident who served 14 years in the military; according to her husband, she was fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer as... That is the point that **mhendo** is making: when emotions are running high, that’s exactly when we should hew closely to the law. And if on the facts of the individual case, there’s no basis for a serious charge, lesser charges should be laid. That’s not some “super-cautious avoid coming down hard on criminals” approach. It’s saying that even in times of crisis, democracies live by the rule of law ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-capitol-under-siege/929830/710 "2021-01-11T06:58:35Z")
Maybe this has been mentioned here, I haven’t read the entire thread, but the latest (it’s been circulating from the beginning, but I only just now heard about it) is that some of the rioters were deliberately spreading their own waste through the Capitol. > **[Pro-Trump rioters smeared poop in U.S. Capitol hallways during belligerent...](https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-trump-capitol-riot-poopers-20210107-prlsqytyabgdhnexushotl4nam-story.html)** > > They took a dump on the seat of American democracy — literally. Are they aware that DNA can be used to identify who it came from? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-capitol-under-siege/929830/711 "2021-01-11T07:11:07Z")
Let’s go to the quarry and throw stuff down there! “Are they aware…?” Ha! ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-capitol-under-siege/929830/712 "2021-01-11T08:07:15Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Biden will be inaugurated at 12:00 noon on Jan. 20. At the time of the siege, this had not been determined. I have a strong suspicion that the goal of the operation (insofar as it had a goal beyond mayhem) was to disrupt the certification process to the point where the final election result would be determined by the House — where, as has been discussed before, the Republicans have an edge in state delegations. Game, set, match to Trump. And kidnapping or killing Traitor Pence and Nasty Nancy would certainly cause a disruption. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-capitol-under-siege/929830/713 "2021-01-11T09:13:59Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > Game, set, match to Trump. And kidnapping or killing Traitor Pence and Nasty Nancy would certainly cause a disruption. How do you figure that? Trump lost. Again. He hasn’t had a win in over four years. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-capitol-under-siege/929830/714 "2021-01-11T09:16:55Z")
I read that as describing what Trump _wanted_ to achieve, or _thought_ he was going to achieve, not what he _did_ achieve (or even was likely to). ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-capitol-under-siege/929830/715 "2021-01-11T09:53:35Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > > [@bobot](#): > > > > Believe it when I see it. > > I’m less pessimistic at this point. I’m astonished at how the FBI are rounding all these fuckers up so quickly. They don’t seem to be dragging their heels. And then it will be the DOJ under Biden. If Trump doesn’t get away with pardoning them, I think they are in trouble. How can Trump pardon anyone now that he has lost access to Twitter? d&r ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-capitol-under-siege/929830/716 "2021-01-11T09:58:35Z")
> [@split\_p\_j](#): > > Pelosi would be president if they got to Pence right? MAGA was chanting kill Pence right? This is the bullshit I’m talking about. Everyone is trying to handwave this shit away. They were also planning to kill Pelosi. No way in hell those MAGAs would tolerate a Democrat as president. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-capitol-under-siege/929830/717 "2021-01-11T10:02:48Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > At the time of the siege, this had not been determined. Do you have any information that this is so? The time and date of the inauguration are set down in the Constitution. As of today, the Inauguration is still scheduled to go on on Jan. 20. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-capitol-under-siege/929830/718 "2021-01-11T10:04:52Z")
I don’t think he means the date. Technically it was not determined _who_ would be inaugurated until the votes were tallied. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-capitol-under-siege/929830/719 "2021-01-11T10:04:54Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Are they aware that DNA can be used to identify who it came from? Most of them probably think “science” is a liberal Antifa lie. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-capitol-under-siege/929830/720 "2021-01-11T10:06:40Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > I have a strong suspicion that the goal of the operation (insofar as it had a goal beyond mayhem) was to disrupt the certification process to the point where the final election result would be determined by the House — where, as has been discussed before, the Republicans have an edge in state delegations. Game, set, match to Trump. And kidnapping or killing Traitor Pence and Nasty Nancy would certainly cause a disruption. There is a logical flaw in this reasoning, though. If, for instance, Georgia’s electors were disqualified, Congress would not recognize the electors chosen by the Republicans. This is a false assumption. They would simply remove Georgia from the EC. Therefore, Georgia would not have any duly appointed electors, upon which the “majority” number is based. Therefore, the total number of electors would drop to 522, making the majority number 261. Repeat this with all the contested states and the numbers keep dropping. Try as you might, there is no path for Individual-ONE to gain a majority (because the D-controlled House will simply refuse to recognize the “alternate” electors). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-capitol-under-siege/929830.md?page=35) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-capitol-under-siege/929830.md?page=37)