Dakota Beacon

How should Americans regard the January 6 so-called “insurrection” and the hearings conducted by the very, very select members of the US House of Representatives? The official committee title comes pejoratively billed as “United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack.” Of the nine committee members, Nancy Pelosi selected seven Democrats and two Republicans. She nimbly stacked the deck selecting Republicans Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger who had voted to impeach Donald Trump. Watch this investigation vainly search for a crime.

This hearing is not the first hoax. Context helps. What follows takes us down memory lane.

Attack? Insurrection? One visualizes gunfire, burning, and looting – something far more serious than mere Black Lives Matter gatherings. “Attack” and “insurrection” conjures something akin to the violence in Washington, DC following President Trump’s inauguration and all but condoned by America’s ruling class. The Washington Post published columns 19 minutes following Trump’s inauguration calling for his impeachment.

Compare the violence following George Floyd’s death in the summer of 2020 that caused $2 billion in property damage and resulted in 20 deaths. The January 6 protest at the US Capitol lasted a few hours, caused minimal damage, and the only person directly killed was an unarmed female Trump supporter, Ashli Babbitt. She was shot by Capitol Police Officer Michael Byrd. His was the only shot fired at the Capitol that day and no guns were carried by the demonstrators or found at the Capitol. Babbitt’s death provided useful cover for a narrative portraying Trump as instigating an “armed insurrection” to overturn the 2020 election.

January 6 House hearings continues the anti-Trump narrative pressed by all his opponents initiated from the day of his inauguration through January 6 and beyond. According to that narrative, five people died at the demonstration on January 6 including Babbitt. But none of these deaths was brought about by the protesters. For example, it was wrongly claimed that Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick was killed with a fire extinguisher by a Trump supporter. It was later ruled he died of natural causes. Nevertheless, it is critical to the opposition’s narrative that the January 6 demonstration be made to look as violent as possible. In that way the branding of the demonstrators as extremists and domestic terrorists can be extended to all 74 million voters who supported Donald Trump – 11 million more than supported him in 2016!

In fact, Trump suggested that people march to the Capitol “peacefully and patriotically” (exact words). He did not incite a riot much less advocate overthrowing the government. Why couldn’t the media and ruling class simply identify this as a political protest that “got out of hand?” Answer: It did not fit the anti-Trump narrative. The narrative foisted on the public maintains that the January 6 protest was the worst threat to our nation since 9/11. Don’t ask questions. Just believe it!

The insurrection narrative stands as a hoax in the same way the long-running Russia collusion story stood as a hoax. In 2015, the federal government began to spy on the Trump campaign resulting in a criminal investigation of the Trump administration. That hoax began by using a fabricated document called the Steele dossier created by British spy Christopher Steele. This document resulted in FISA warrants to spy on Carter Page and other citizens. In fact, it was an operation research piece purchased by the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign. It was a pack of lies and the principals knew it. Even so, its illegal use arrayed federal agencies against a presidential candidate of which the ruling class disapproved.

Don’t overlook Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s two-year investigation costing $35 million to find – nothing. Trump’s opponents hoped to link Trump to Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. It didn’t work. Therefore, there is nothing “therefore.”

Former FBI director James Comey lied about knowing who paid for it. Result? He got a big book deal. CIA Director John Brennan, Congressman Adam Schiff, and other members of the House Intelligence Committee as well as other senior members of the FBI also lied without consequence. All these people said publicly that they had seen clear evidence of collusion with Russia. But behind closed doors and under oath they admitted that they had not. Meanwhile James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Lisa Page, John Brennan, Peter Strzok, and others suffered nothing.

On the other hand, several of those jailed in the so-called “January 6 insurrection” have been kept in confinement, in deplorable conditions, and some are still awaiting trial. The media narrative held that they would be found guilty of criminal sedition. None have.

As “Imprimis,” a publication of Hillsdale College, observes, “The central fact to appreciate about Donald Trump is that he was elected president without the permission, and over the incredulous objections, of the bipartisan oligarchy that governs us. That was his unforgivable offense.” For that he must be hounded into oblivion and his supporters branded as extremists and domestic terrorists.

But we are not done. Witness the Mar-a-Lago raid. Trump’s opposition still vainly seeks for anything by which he might be charged, disqualified, or discredited from running for office again. This gives a whole new meaning to the term “Trumped up” charges.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).