THE GABS

What do you think should happen to the people who stormed the capital on Jan. 6 2021?

Photos by Gabrielle Reeder

Katie Mello, Peace Dale, RI: “My opinion is that those that participated in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol should be brought up on terrorism charges with the same severity as foreign aggressors.”

Jeff Potkay, Milford, CT: “Well, I definitely believe everyone who was involved should be arrested and prosecuted. It was a violent protest, and punishment and fining them will hopefully prevent this from ever happening again!.”

Chris Bisram, Astoria, NY: “OK, so I think that they should face some sort of punishment, such as imprisonment for a few months for the destruction of public property and endangerment of city officials. If not imprisonment, at the very least probation and a ticket for the same reasons. Just some sort of punishment to ensure that they won’t do it again.”

Troy Drunasky, St. Petersburg: “They should absolutely face a form of punishment. The rally on Jan. 6 was not a peaceful protest, as said by those who value their culture war over the lives of those inside that building. It was, in fact, a riot. There is video evidence of violence and clearly spoken intent for far worse violence. Sure, the death toll was low and things did seem to be peaceful at first. But, they quickly snowballed and if the rioters were not stopped, or if they were able to find Pence, Pelosi, Romney, Ocasio-Cortez, or any others they were calling for the heads of, we’d have a far different story on our hands. We cannot forgive this as ‘well, it wasn’t that bad.’ We should not tolerate blatant attempts to overturn elections. The precedent set here by a politician creating a cult to keep himself in power is extremely dangerous, with roots in the evangelical far right. This is a bi-partisan issue. Attempted murder of politicians because your god-emperor lost to a centrist geriatric patient is not cool.”