Rise and Resist to DOJ: Step Up January 6 Probe
Activists grow impatient with Attorney General Merrick Garland
BY MATT TRACY
Marking the one-year
anniversary of the
January 6 attack,
queer activists with
Rise and Resist gathered outside
of the New York Public Library on
Fifth Avenue to urge the Department
of Justice (DOJ) to take bolder
action against perpetrators of
the infamous insurrection.
The activists emphasized their
desire to see the prosecution of top
government offi cials — not just little
known rioters — and they specifi
cally called out former President
Donald Trump as well as Representatives
Marjorie Taylor Greene
of Georgia, Matt Gaetz of Florida,
Jim Jordan of Ohio, and several
others. Emphasizing their frustration
with Attorney General Merrick
Garland, activists unfurled a long
sign urging him to “do your job”
and “indict the coup plotters.”
Speaking on the anniversary of
the attack, Garland sought to quell
concerns that the DOJ has been
too lenient on the more prominent
suspects.
“The actions we have taken thus
far will not be our last,” Garland
said. “The Justice Department
remains committed to holding all
January 6th perpetrators, at any
level, accountable under law —
whether they were present that
day or were otherwise criminally
responsible for the assault on our
democracy.”
On the same day, Taylor Greene
and Gaetz appeared on Steve Bannon’s
radio show and remained
defi ant and unapologetic, saying
they had no responsibility in the
insurrection. Meanwhile, Jordan is
under the microscope of the House
Committee probing the January 6
attack. The committee delivered a
letter to Jordan last month asking
him to sit down for an interview to
discuss his communication with
the former president on January
6 and the time leading up to the
riot.
“Donald Trump tried every
scheme imaginable to overturn the
2020 election results,” said activist
Members of Rise and Resist mark the one-year anniversary of the January 6 attack.
Jamie Bauer, who participated
in the demonstration. “He tried to
coerce secretaries of state to not
certify the election. He tried to
pressure state legislatures to overturn
the results. He tried to strong
arm Pence to overturn the results.
When all else failed he sent a mob
of insurrectionists to the Capitol.
Why has he not been indicted?”
The activists also called for the
prosecution of former US National
Security Advisor Michael Flynn,
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, former
New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani,
and former Justice Department
offi cial Jeffrey Clark.
Activists used the demonstration
to make phone calls to the
DOJ to urge offi cials to target “the
real perps of January 6.”
“Where’s the urgency?” asked
Rise and Resist member Leon
Kirschner. “Our government was
nearly overthrown! When will
we see charges of seditious conspiracy
and incitement of insurrection
for Roger Stone, Rudy
Giuliani, Steve Bannon, Alex
Jones and Michael Flynn? Mark
Meadows defi ed a congressional
subpoena — why hasn’t he been
indicted already?… There are so
many questions. Why isn’t the
attorney general holding regular
press conferences? Every day
that passes without real accountability
is another day that our democracy
is threatened.”
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Activists call for the former president and his buddies to be held responsible for January 6.
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