MPs want to ban rebels from holding office

Democratic legislators in several states, two years after the violent attack on the US Capitol, are trying to send a signal that those involved in the attempt to overthrow the government should not be allowed to run it.

New York, Connecticut, and Virginia are among the states where the proposed law would prohibit any person convicted of participating in an insurrection from holding public office or positions of public trust, such as becoming a police officer.

While the bills vary in scope, their purpose is the same.

“If you tried to overthrow our government by violent means, you should never be part of it,” said New York State Senator Brad Hoylman-Segal.

He authored a bill that would bar those convicted of insurrection or rebellion against the United States from holding civil office, meaning they would not be able to hold office as a judge or member of the Legislature. Hoylman-Segal said he introduced the bill this year because he saw more people involved in the January 6, 2021 Washington riots last year.

He described the assault on the Capitol as “a veritable attack on the foundations of our free and just democracy and the values ​​that allow it to endure.”

This month, on the second anniversary of the Capitol riot, a Virginia legislator introduced a bill to bar any person convicted of a felony of attempted insurrection or riot from holding publicly trusted positions, including policy-making, law enforcement positions. , security. , education or health.

The Connecticut bill would bar people convicted of sedition, mutiny, insurrection, or a felony related to one of those acts from running or holding public office. Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, who introduced the measure, told The Associated Press that he wants the law to eventually bar them from holding state or municipal office.

The state legislation came after the final report of a House committee on January 6, which found that Donald Trump was criminally conspiring to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election, which he lost, and took no action to prevent his supporters to attack the Capitol. .

The committee’s recently concluded work may have provided lawmakers with yet another springboard for action and proposals for ways to hold people accountable, said Victoria Bassetti, senior political adviser to the US United Democratic Center, a non-partisan organization that campaigns for fair elections.

Some Republicans say the law is unnecessary.

In New York, Republican Assemblyman Will Barclay, a minority leader, called the bill a “political statement,” saying it was “more political than a concern for public policy.”

He said existing rules already apply to incumbents convicted of crimes, and that these laws “should suffice.”

The legislation is yet another example of how the Capitol Riot has become a political Rorschach test in the country.

Many Republicans refuse to view the attempted forceful termination of the presidential credentials, which was based on the lie that the 2020 election was stolen, as an insurrection, while the party’s vast majority continue to believe that President Joe Biden was not legitimately elected. Even students are taught different versions of the attack, depending on whether they live in more conservative or liberal parts of the country.

Contrasting realities came into focus this month in Pennsylvania during a tense exchange between the two lawmakers.

In a committee hearing, Republican Senator Chris Dush hit the hammer when he ruled Democratic Senator Amanda Cappelletti out of action after she called the US Capitol “the site of an uprising” on January 6.

“Rebellion, no one was blamed for this,” Douche said. “None of these people have ever been charged with being rebels. In this committee, we don’t use that term.”

Nearly 1,000 people were charged with federal crimes in the Capitol riots, with about half pleading guilty to riot-related charges, and more than three dozen people were convicted in court. Charges range from petty offenses for those accused of breaking into the Capitol but not participating in the violence, to seditious conspiracy for members of a far-right extremist group accused of conspiring to obstruct the transfer of presidential power.

In November, two leaders of the Oath Keepers extremist group were found guilty of sedition for what prosecutors allege was a week-long conspiracy to use force to keep Trump in office. Leaders of the Proud Boys and other members of the Oath Keepers are currently facing trial on charges of sedition that carry up to 20 years behind bars.

Weeks after the committee’s exchange, Cappelletti told The Associated Press it was important to make sure people understood that the attack on the Capitol was an uprising.

“These are actually the right things,” she said. “This doesn’t mean we can’t disagree on politics or other things, but we can acknowledge that this has happened and start figuring out how we’re going to move forward to work together to build that public trust again.”

Douche was of the firm opinion that what happened on January 6 was not an uprising.

“If there was any plan for an uprising, it would fall apart pretty quickly after the government took back control,” he said in a telephone interview.

There have been previous attempts to prevent certain officials from running or holding office.

A New Hampshire bill that would have banned anyone involved in rebellion or insurrection from holding office in the state died last year.

Also last year, groups filed lawsuits under the rarely cited section of the 14th Amendment regarding insurrection. They sought to remove a handful of members of the US House of Representatives from running for re-election for events related to the January 6 riots.

In New Mexico, a state court in September disqualified a rural district commissioner from holding public office for participating in the Capitol uprising. Kui Griffin had previously been convicted of a misdemeanor in federal court for entering the Capitol grounds without entering the building. He was sentenced to 14 days, taking into account the time served.

The judge permanently suspended Griffin, who at the time was elected Commissioner of Otero County, from federal and local government positions.

In West Virginia, a former state legislator who pleaded guilty to a felony of civil unrest for participating in the riot and served time announced earlier this month that he is running for Congress.

“We really need to get rid of those who will overthrow our government,” said Duff, the Connecticut MP. “None of them may be an elected or appointed official.”