Will the real villains ever be held accountable for the January 6th MAGA Riots?

The Friday Flashpoints

To begin, I admit that I initially had no desire to watch the January 6th Congressional Committee hearings that aired last night on every major network except one—Fox “News.”

If you're wondering why Ol' Hobbs, a historian, legal scholar, and award-winning writer would sit out arguably the most critical hearings of the 21st Century, the simple answer is this: “I’m tired!”

Yes, I am weary from pushing the boulder of truth about the last days of the Trump administration uphill, only to see it roll back down hill amid his web of lies—and the willful blindness from his followers who are eager to support him in a second run in 2024.

When I posted on Facebook last night that I hadn't watched the hearings, while many posters echoed similar sentiments, several others, including longtime Hobbservation Point subscribers like former FAMU Journalism Dean Bob Ruggles, TCC history professor Andrea Howard Oliver, and retired corporate executive Jeanie J. Jones, encouraged me to “faint not,” “watch the hearings,” and “don’t give up!”

Well, I was still on the fence until this morning when I re-read the following words from one of my favorite young public intellectuals, FAMU alumnus Derrick McMahon, Jr.:

And so I watched early this morning—now, I opine….

First, I extend kudos to U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), my Kappa Alpha Psi Fraterntiy Brother and fellow HBCU alum, whose calm demeanor added a touch of class to what was tantamount to an opening statement. I found it clever, quite clever actually, when Chairman Thompson invoked America as the "shining city on a hill," because that language was first famously spoken by a man that conservatives used to love more than life—President Ronald Reagan.

I also greatly admired the road map that Thompson's "co-counsel," U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wy), laid out—one that will ultimately show the actors who were responsible for the January 6th MAGA Riots—and why they ultimately chose to obstruct the peaceful transition of power that day. 

So, as I watched previously unseen footage of the riot, and listened carefully to videotaped deposition testimony from Ivanka Trump, former Trump Attorney General Bill Barr, and former Trump aide Jason Miller, I merely concluded, again, what I concluded LONG ago: the MAIN culprit in fomenting insurrection, destruction, and death on January 6, 2021 was former President Donald John Trump!

You see, I paid careful attention to all of the lies that were told in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election by Trump and the legal team that he cobbled together to challenge the results. 

Like most sane Americans, I knew then that there was no widespread voter fraud—but that didn't stop Trump and his legal minions from filing frivolous lawsuits all across America!

I knew then that the very fact that even federal judges appointed by Trump were dismissing his lawsuits was a clear cut indicator that there was no substance to his arguments that Democrats had rigged the voting machines!

I knew then that when Trump loyalists, like Attorney General Barr, abandoned his election ship, that Trump needed to concede the obvious, but his ego would not allow it!

I knew then that when Trump started Tweeting for his law breaking followers, like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, to "come to Washington—it's going to be wild," that the possibility of civil disturbances were exponentially increased!

Nothing to be “proud” about…

As I listened to Trump's rally on January 6th, I knew then that when he called for Vice President Mike Pence to break the law by not certifying the results, that Pence was in theoretical danger. When I watched the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and other miserable minions march and chant "hang Mike Pence”—while carrying nooses—I knew that Pence was in actual danger! Perhaps the most chilling testimony that I heard during last night's session was that Trump, upon hearing that the crowd was chanting to hang Pence, shrugged his shoulders and said "perhaps the crowd is rignt? Pence deserves it."

Sigh...

Long before last night's hearings, we had heard from Republicans like Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Ca), and viewed text messages from Fox “News” host Sean Hannity, begging an irate President Trump to tell his minions to "stand down." But Trump waited over two hours before giving a tepid command—long after much of the damage was already done!

Trump and his buddy, Sean Hannity…

What sickened me to my core, then and now, is that those same Republicans soon pivoted to defend the indefensible by shouting the public relations drafted talking point that the rioters were "peaceful protesters." Hannity was even worse, as he shunned the truth of what he knew and went live on the night of January 6th and blamed the violence on "Black Lives Matter" and "ANTIFA." Sadly, Hannity's fans took the bait like catfish heading for the frying pan!

Thus, if nothing else, the January 6th Committee will preserve the testimony of Trump's family members and inner circle who are on record for saying that the election was NOT rigged and that Trump, like a petulant toddler, refused to accept the lawful results (and, as a result, almost launched the second American Civil War)!

As she wrapped up her opening statements, Rep. Cheney made two points that hit home. The first was her sobering statement: "To my fellow Republicans there will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain...”

Indeed...

Cheney's second point was her quote of U.S. District Judge David Carter, the jurist handling matters involving Trump lawyer John Eastman's lies to help his client steal the election. Judge Carter's warning captures my own biggest fear, which is that if the January 6th matter is not fully investigated—and the responsible parties held to account—that there will be a "repeat."

But to be honest, I am compelled to ask what does accountability actually look like if the ringleader, Donald Trump, suffers no legal consequences?

Lest we forget that since the 1970's, America has sat at rapt attention while Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and now Donald Trump, all had long legal proceedings for various misdeeds—and not much came from any of it. 

(From left) Presidents Reagan, Johnson, Trump, Clinton, and Nixon

Yes, Nixon resigned, but he never saw a prison cell about Watergate!

Yes, Reagan was term-limited out of office, but he never saw a prison cell for Iran-Contragate!

Yes, Clinton was term-limited out of office, but after the Monica Lewinsky hearings, he lost his law license—but later earned nearly a billion dollars in corporate speaking fees and charitable donations!

That recent presidential history, alone, renders me fully skeptical that Trump will ever see a prison cell for his role in the events leading up to the January 6th MAGA Riots. Yes, I know that some folks lower on the totem poll have been indicted but so far, most have had minimal jail sentences with the stiffest to date being Robert Palmer, 63, who will serve about five years for throwing a fire extinguisher and hitting an officer. Hell, for what it’s worth, I've seen folks get the same time for felony driving with a suspended license 😠.

Thus, my melancholy and, thus, my skepticism that Donald Trump, or anyone of significance, will be held to account for one of the worst days in American political history.

The sad thing is that America is so politicized that there are millions of Republicans or Trump supporters who think that he did nothing wrong following the 2020 elections.

While I voted for Joe Biden, if he were to lose in 2024 and act in the same unlawful manner as Trump, I would blast him with the same rhetorical fury that I have used on his predecessor. The problem is that for far too many Americans, their intellectual honesty (or dishonesty) hinges upon whether their ideological bent is in jeopardy; I challenge those conservatives who claim to respect the rule of law to condemn the acts of Trump, the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, and other MAGA rioters, instead of pivoting to chatter about Hillary Clinton, the Biden family, or any other subject that takes the focus away from how close America really was to anarchy on January 6, 2021!