Bay Area Members of Congress Say DOJ Must Charge Capitol Attackers With Sedition

Several members of Congress are calling on acting U.S. Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen to charge the insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol last week with sedition; the same criminal offenses that Rosen previously recommended for Black Lives Matter protesters, according to a letter sent to the attorney general Saturday.

In September, then-Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen issued a memorandum advising federal attorneys to charge BLM protesters with “seditious conspiracy” and other crimes.

The memorandum stated that the charge "does not require proof of a plot to overthrow the U.S. Government" and applies to conspiracies with any of the following objectives: "to oppose by force the authority [of the Government of the United States]"; "by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States"; or "by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof." All of these examples were witnessed during the attack on the Capitol last week.

The September memorandum also states seditious conspiracy could carry a prison term of up to 20 years.

Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Stockton, says he wants those same sedition charges applied to the perpetrators of Wednesday’s terrorist attack, and that not doing so would set a double standard.

“They set one set of standards for Black Lives Matters protesters, and they don't seem to be applying the same standards to white [supremacists] that are intent on overthrowing our country's government," he said.

McNerney says he wants to see a more "uniform sense of justice."

In the letter, he writes that while the Black Lives Matter protests were largely peaceful, last Wednesday’s attack left at least five people dead, including one law enforcement officer.

"As you move forward with investigating the terrorist attack on the Capitol, we expect that you will fully consider the criminal offenses that you cited in your September guidance and all other relevant charges for each person connected with carrying out the attack," the letter says.

Twenty-nine members of Congress backed McNerney and signed the letter, including five Democratic representatives from the Bay Area: Mark DeSaulnier of Concord, Barbara Lee of Oakland and North Bay representatives Jared Huffman of San Rafael, Mike Thompson of St. Helena and John Garamendi of Walnut Grove.

DeSaulnier said the letter sends an important message about addressing racism in the Trump administration.

“The Department of Justice can know that we are concerned and we are watching, and that at the base level people should be treated no differently, irrespective of their ethnicity," DeSaulnier said.

Both congressmen said the BLM activists were exercising their rights to protest, whereas attackers at the Capitol were clearly intending to overthrow the government.

McNerney said if the DOJ does not pursue sedition charges, it would put the country at risk by encouraging further acts of violence.

"It means that these people are going to go away scot-free, and that'll encourage them to do that again. I think it puts people's lives at risk. It puts our nation's democracy at risk," McNerney said.