The "Trump-made-me-do-it" defense is already looking like a longshot.
Facing damning evidence in the deadly Capitol siege last month — including social media posts flaunting their actions — rioters are arguing in court they were following then-President Donald Trump
...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US...
’s instructions on Jan. 6. But the legal strategy has already been shot down by at least one judge and experts believe the argument is not likely to get anyone off the hook for the insurrection where five people died, including a police officer.
"This purported defense, if recognized, would undermine the rule of law because then, just like a king or a dictator, the president could dictate what’s illegal and what isn’t in this country," U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell said recently in ordering pretrial detention of William Chrestman, a suspected member of the Kansas City-area chapter of the Proud Boys. "And that is not how we operate here."
Facing damning evidence in the deadly Capitol siege last month — including social media posts flaunting their actions — rioters are arguing in court they were following then-President Donald Trump
...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US...’s instructions on Jan. 6. But the legal strategy has already been shot down by at least one judge and experts believe the argument is not likely to get anyone off the hook for the insurrection where five people died, including a police officer.
"This purported defense, if recognized, would undermine the rule of law because then, just like a king or a dictator, the president could dictate what’s illegal and what isn’t in this country," U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell said recently in ordering pretrial detention of William Chrestman, a suspected member of the Kansas City-area chapter of the Proud Boys. "And that is not how we operate here."
I would first note that there’s something rather strange about a group of people so dedicated and loyal to Donald Trump that they would travel across the country to attend his rally outside the White House, now turning around and trying to throw him under the bus. People so dedicated to the idea of "stopping the steal" that they were willing to risk injury or death (in at least one case) to defend the President are now casting the blame on him in an effort to avoid jail time.
How many of them were actually Antifa/BLM Black Bloc agitators, and how many others were undercover government agents provocateur? Especially given that almost no one in the crowd joined in the festivities, even of the several hundred who walked over to see what was going on at the Capitol Building..
Heck, even the QAnon Shaman ... who mostly did his thing to acclaim at Antifa protests, and who was described by prosecutors back home as mentally unbalanced...
is getting in on the act. According to the linked report, Jacob Chansley’s attorney submitted an annotated transcript of the speech Trump gave that day, with highlighted passages purportedly showing how the President "instructed" them to stop the electoral college count.”I heard his voice beamed directly to the new filling in my left bicuspid, yr honormensity,” he added.
Related:
January 6: 2021-02-27 Ohio Gov. John Kasich: Trump's Popularity and Strength Are ‘Fleeting Every Day'
January 6: 2021-02-26 Capitol Police acting chief: Extremists threatened Biden speech before Congress
January 6: 2021-02-25 Capitol Riot: Witnesses Contradict Democrats' Claim that Attack Was Expected
January 6: 2021-02-27 Ohio Gov. John Kasich: Trump's Popularity and Strength Are ‘Fleeting Every Day'
January 6: 2021-02-26 Capitol Police acting chief: Extremists threatened Biden speech before Congress
January 6: 2021-02-25 Capitol Riot: Witnesses Contradict Democrats' Claim that Attack Was Expected