Are all the people that entered the Capitol terrorists and criminals?

I’ve heard a lot of people are lumping everyone who entered the Capitol on January 6, as evil. There certainly were many that were violent and should have the book thrown at them. But I’m thinking that there were probably many who were probably towards the back and just wandered in the Capitol and didn’t act aggressively toward anyone. Do you guys think that anyone who was there is equally guilty? Weren’t at least some of them just expressing their right to protest and just happened to follow there way inside? Was the violence at the front visible to all those at the back who just followed the herd? Many Cops actually opened the barricades and just let them walk in.

 

Hmmm...broken windows and doors...I'd say all should have known they were trespassing and that the Capitol was officially closed. But, they'll have their day in court and they'll be charged as individuals, on different charges.

 

Standing outside the Capitol and protesting I will support all day long. But even those who were "standing at the back" and being followers by going into the Capitol were wrong. Were they as egregious as those who were violent and stole and vandalized? No. But they knew what was going on. They could see the violence. And they were wrong for entering the Capitol. And I wouldn't call any of them terrorists. Piece of s h i t criminal scumbags...but definitely not terrorists.

 

I think they were mostly normal people (or used to be), who self-radicalized on the internet. Kind of like Muslim extremists self-radicalize by following a certain kind of propaganda, or being immersed in groups of other extremists. My feeling is that many of them really thought they were dong the right thing. Of course, this kind of stuff is unavoidable when the media you watch and your elected leader lie to you 24/7.

 

Like @ECA , I will support protesting and protesters. Always. And that includes the folks who showed up to protest on Jan 6. But I see their entering the building the same way I do a store that has been broken into by rioters during a protest. On that day, sheer volume was enough to break through the police line. So being part of that 'sheer volume', moving in that direction, places responsibility on their shoulders. I don't suggest, in that case, that folks are evil or need to be punished - but I do think they need to evaluate their own actions.

 

Yup. This is the problem and it's not going away anytime soon.

 

Anyone that entered the Capitol knowing that the doors and windows had been broken into so that they could enter the building did so illegally. No one had the legal right to be there except those who work there. So they all could be charged with breaking and entering.

 

OF COURSE IT WAS ALL CRIMINAL! Illegal entry is ....... ummm ....... --illegal!

 

They all broke the law. The ones in back weren't violent only because there was no one back there to be violent against. They all were participants in a crime that included murder.

 

Many? Perhaps some and they should be fired and prosecuted.

 

"Participated in a murder". What does that mean? They were in the same building where the murder was committed. That does not make them participants.

 

If you and I rob a gas station and I kill someone. When we're caught do you think I'm the only one that will be charged with murder??

 

That would make you directly involved in the murder. Someone who happens to be in the same building is not directly involved.

They will all be charged and tried individually. Not for what other people in the group did, but for what they did.

 

Spend some time learning. If you and I are both committing a crime (robbery) and I kill someone, we will both be charged with murder. Of course someone else in the building who IS NOT participating in the crime wouldn't be charged.

 

Duh ... when the police are shooting tear gas at you and yelling at you to get back from barriers, it's kind of a given
that you are breaking the law if you keep going ...

 

It appears that you are the one who should spend some time learning. You repeated what I said using different words. However, earlier you said

 

I’m no lawyer but it’s hard to imagine that the same charges would be brought against everyone. Your example of a couple of robbers and one of them shoots someone is something that most people know is true. However, Hundreds of protesters and if one or even several of them goes rogue and shoots someone , gets violent, or steals something, I’m pretty sure that would be litigated with more focus on who did what.

 

You're probably right. Charging each of them would be one hell of a stretch but if I was one of them I would have cause to worry.

 

The fact they weren't violent hasn't got a thing to do with whether they were guilty of a crime or not.

 

They were guilty of a crime, but not all murder.

Just imagine what will happen in court when several hundred of them are brought up on charges of murder. You probably would never convince a judge and certainly not a jury that they are guilty of murder.

 

So every riot where someone dies, everyone should be charged with murder? They are criminals, not murderers. Let them pay their fines and be on their way.

 

Criminals? Yes. Terrorists? Nah, the people taking selfies and stuff and not engaging in the physical assault on police, etc, weren't terrorists.

 

These were communists dreaming of revolution. But Master Trump ordered a fascist revolution. So it failed. Poor Donald and his lynchmob.

 

It depends on the state. Here in Texas, if you commit a felony and someone dies, that's murder, whether you were the one who killed them or not. You could be driving a getaway car for a bank robbery, and if the police shoot and kill one of your fellow robbers, you can be prosecuted for their murder. Personally, I think that's stupid, but it's a thing.

 

In Germany, we have a saying that applies here: "Mitgefangen, Mitgehangen". Maye use google translator to figure it out.