To the Editor,
Mr. Davidson says remember Insurrection Day January 6, 2021; However, no one has been charged for insurrection. You blame Trump for pardoning protesters. However, four years has gone by, and many have been denied the right to a speedy trial.
You say that Trump watched for 187 minutes and did nothing, as reported by The Select Committee.
A timeline of events by the New York Times and Washington Post shows that no more than 25 minutes passed between the reported breach at 2:13 p.m. and Trump’s first tweet address at 2:38 saying, “Please support our Capital Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our country. Stay Peaceful!” Prior to the event, Trump had requested National Guard to be deployed but was turned down by head of security Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
You claim five officers died. Five people did die that day or soon after, but none of these deaths were brought about by protestors. Police Officer Byrd shot and killed unarmed Air Force Veteran Ashli Babbitt in the neck. Note, the only shot fired that day, no guns were recovered on January 6th. Kevin Greeson died by heart attack outside the Capitol. Benjamin Philips died of a stroke that day. Rosanne Boyland died as police pushed protestors on top of Boyland and would not allow protesters to pull her out. Officer Sicknick told his family he felt fine and later died of natural causes.
More than 40,000 hours of security footage was kept under seal by House Democratic Leadership and excluded from the Select Committee’s inquiry. This information was released after Republicans took the House in the 2022 midterms.
I would say shame on Mr. Davidson and the Fillmore County Journal for not checking the facts.
Mike Miller
Caledonia, Minn.
Anonymous says
Apparently we are all supposed to believe everything that you say simply because you are the sole arbiter of truth.
One has to wonder why you were not called in to serve as an expert witness by Republican members in Congress to set the record straight about all the “facts” you allege. Many of those who were charged for their actions on that day most certainly could have benefited from knowing that you were available as an unassailable witness for their defense? Where were you?
Of course, it helps if you can point to objective facts to support what you say.
So, I’ll offer the following in response…
1-You state that none of Trump’s supporters were charged with insurrection. There is more than one definition of that term. One is the meaning as commonly understood, however, the legal standard in order to level charges against the supporters who breached the Capitol Building is to prove an intent to overthrow the government, and must then be affirmed by 12 of 12 jurors in federal court. That is an extremely difficult case to prove, particularly when it requires a proof of intent. But you must have surely known this already.
2-You contend that timelines published by the New York Times and the Washington Post “show that no more than 25 minutes passed between the first reported breach at 2:13 p.m. and Trump’s first tweet address at 2:38…” You are no doubt aware that few readers will begin a paid subscription to the New York Times or the Washington Post to do their own fact checking? The next best thing is this security timeline published by the National Security Archive: https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/news/foia/2022-01-06/capitol-riot-chronology
If you read through that chronology, you’ll see that the first reported breach when the Capitol Police lost their first line of defense was at 12:53 P.M., which I believe is an hour and twenty minutes prior to the time that you allege. The 12:53 P.M. time of that breach was reported by the Washington Post. His first tweet to “Stay peaceful” occurred at 2:38 P.M., as you say, but that was actually 1 hour, 45 minutes later, which is a little bit more than the 25 minute delay you cite. This statement was was extremely weak tea unbefitting of a strong leader, and was obviously insufficient.
Finally, from 4:03=4:07 P.M., Trump went to the Rose Garden, where he participated in the videotaping of a message to his supporters asking them to peacefully leave the U. S. Capitol. It was only then that his supporters began to depart. So, let’s see, the elapsed time from 12:53 P.M. to 4:03-4:07 P.M. is much longer than the 25 minutes that you cite.
The first mention of the arrival of the District of Columbia National Guard was at 5:40 P.M., which was four hours, 47 minutes after the the first breach of the line set up by the Capitol Police.
You may want to contact the National Security Archive to convince them that they have all this wrong.
3-You state that Trump requested National Guard support but that then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi vetoed that request. Does your statement mean that the Commander in Chief is actually the Speaker of the House rather than the President? Then there is the matter of whether Nancy Pelosi had the authority to summon the National Guard. Politifact has investigated that claim: https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/jun/13/social-media/fact-checking-claim-pelosi-takes-responsibility-fo/
4-Here’s a link to the accounting of events on Wikipedia regarding Ashley Babbitt: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Ashli_Babbitt
According to the aforementioned account, Babbitt attempted to crawl through a broken window into the Speaker’s lobby. To stop her, Capitol Police shot her in her left anterior shoulder. Had the officer intended to kill her, it would seem likely that the officer would have aimed at her head or the middle of her upper chest?
Before lauding Babbitt as a heroine, I would suggest that people read the preceding, then render their own judgements.
5-According to Fox News, the DC Medical Examiner determined the cause of death for four of the five persons who died on January 6th, noting that a final determination regarding Officer Brian Sicknick was still underway. Here’s that link: https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/trending/dc-medical-examiner-confirms-causes-of-death-of-4-who-died-in-jan-6-capitol/article_71442fc9-4afe-591d-befa-0ee2b1d7f368.html
So, let’s see…
• Ashli Babbitt, 35, died from a gunshot wound to her left shoulder
• Roseanne Boyland, 34, died of acute amphetamine intoxication
• Kevin Greeson, 55, died of hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
• Benjamin Phillips, 50, died of hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
As for the Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died at the age of 42, here is the relevant Wikipedia article that provides more comprehensive information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Brian_Sicknick
In addition to the preceding…
Here’s the Wikipedia article, regarding January 6th: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_6_United_States_Capitol_attack
At least 174 Capitol Police Officers were injured, 15 of whom required hospitalization.
The assessed damages to the U. S. Capitol Building were estimated at $2.7 million and when necessary post-January 6th security measures were added in, the bill was estimated to exceed $30 million.
Doesn’t that all seem like a wonderful use of our tax dollars?
6-You apparently decry the secrecy surrounding the 44,000 hours of House Security footage. To that concern, I’d ask you the following…
Let’s say that a fairly sizable number of people on the opposite end of the political spectrum were to begin threatening you, and on one occasion, managed to enter part of your home. Fortunately for you, an off duty law enforcement officer is passing by your home at the time and is able to scare off the intruder(s). You have no idea who this person or people were since so many people have leveled threats toward you.
In such a circumstance, I’m sure that you would have absolutely no concern if the security footage from all security cameras on the property were released, allowing future intruders to identify every point of vulnerability in your home, including the most advantageous entry and exit points into and from your home, as well as information allowing them to more quickly spot and disable any security cameras you may have installed. You’d certainly sleep soundly if such were to occur?
ADDITIONAL NOTE:
According to this article published by Reuters on 21 January 2025, Trump privately blamed “Antifa people” for storming the Capitol Building on January 6th: https://www.reuters.com/article/world/us/trump-privately-blamed-antifa-people-for-storming-us-capitol-axios-idUSKBN29H0DQ/
Perhaps you believed Trump’s contentions at the time? Perhaps you still believe those contentions to be the case?
So, when Trump wiped the slate clean for more than 1500 supporters who stormed the U. S. Capitol on January 6th, we are to believe that he pardoned more than 1500 “Antifa” people?
If it was “Antifa” who stormed the Capitol Building, why didn’t he issue the order for the National Guard to respond much earlier than was the case? If it was “Antifa” who were responsible, then why would he refer to January 6th as a “Day of Love”?
You no doubt are aware that “Antifa” is a shortened version of the term “anti-fascist”. Isn’t opposing fascism an abomination? Weren’t all surviving World War II veterans who fought in Europe against the Axis powers, rather than being heroes, are persons to be reviled? The fathers, grandfathers, uncles and other family members who fought in Europe should have sided with Hitler and Mussolini, right?
Yes, opposing fascism is supposedly a horrific act, if I understand you correctly?
In Closing…
I would heartily encourage those who read this reply to review the preceding, along with the enclosed supporting information, then decide for themselves who should be making the apologies.