The justice system has been prosecuting foot soldiers who participated in this horrific event. That’s hardly enough. It’s time to call to account the masterminds, including the former president himself, whose contempt for the rule of law and democracy is indisputable.
Roger Hirschberg
South Burlington, Vt.
Once again, we could see brutal rule of fear
“For love is preserved by the link of obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails.”
This line, written almost 500 years ago in “The Prince” by Italian diplomat and theorist Niccolò Machiavelli after being tortured, comes to mind as it pertains to the op-ed by US Representative Jim McGovern and his experience during last year’s riot at the Capitol (“The coup is still underway,” Opinion, Jan. 3).
In three years, we again will probably have a choice for a president who desires to lead and unite a sharply divided country with love, or, if Donald Trump runs again and wins, one who will lead by fear of punishment to cement his authority.
If the latter occurs, I will hope to do my part, in the face of such threats, to preserve the Republic and our democracy. Will you?
Richard Allison
Maynard
Capitol’s attackers are getting off easy
Thank you to Kimberly Atkins Stohr for her thoughtful op-ed on the Jan. 6 insurrection (“Jan. 6 was a seditious insurrection; prosecutors should charge accordingly,” Opinion, Dec. 31, 2021). I’m furious and rather scared about the FBI’s and the Justice Department’s soft handling of the more than 700 people arrested in the assault on the Capitol.
Federal authorities have stated that there were more than 1,000 people who breached the Capitol illegally that day. What about the ones who haven’t been apprehended? They’re probably at home bragging about their experience and having gotten away with it.
And those who have been arrested have been charged largely with misdemeanors. Few are behind bars, and many have been given small fines. They too may get to brag and justify their behavior. (Most media accounts I’ve seen also fail to mention that the rioters reportedly urinated and defecated in the Capitol.)
Atkins Stohr touched briefly on a possible reason for the kid-glove handling of these insurrectionists: They were mostly white. If that had not been the case, the outcome would have been quite different.
Many members of law enforcement support Trump. Is it far-fetched to assume many also support the insurrection?
How do we fix this when about a third of the country sees nothing wrong with the Confederate flag waving in the Capitol? How do we fix this when the “Trumplican” party sees nothing wrong with trying to overthrow the government? How do we avoid a successful coup in 2024? I’m terrified every day because I just don’t know how to fix this.
Victoria McDonough
Marshfield
This could prove to be our ultimate day of infamy
Claire Wardle correctly warns that our general indifference to the events of Jan. 6, 2021, may mark the ultimate day of infamy for the United States (“Jan. 6 proved that what happens online doesn’t stay online,” Opinion, Jan. 3). After Pearl Harbor, our country mobilized a call to arms with unprecedented unity and determination to defeat the enemies of democracy. Today, those who undermine our government and threaten our future are within our own borders.
The attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6 has to be reckoned with, honestly and judiciously, now, before our political and social differences divide us even farther and farther.
Ralph D’Agostino
Everett
