It’s dumb that the focus on the Capitol Insurrection Hearings so far has been about the failure to protect the building made of gold and marble and the disorderly environment the millionaires who dominate the halls of congress faced.

The real problem is why wasn’t there sufficient policing and crowd management to ensure Stop the Steal and other protestors could get out their message in an orderly, safe fashion that minimized harm to people and property. Arrests and violence by the police should be the last resort but also protestors shouldn’t be allowed to get into dangerous situations where they can harm themselves or others.

Hatred of the message makes it easy for law enforcement and politicians to abuse the protestors. But no matter how idiotic their message is, they have the right to be heard. Stop the Steal is dumb and conspiracy minded but they still have a message worth hearing but maybe not taken seriously. We the taxpayers pay cops to keep everyone safe – and keep protests relative orderly. Not just to guard the people in the house of gold, but the protestors too.

What happened at the US Capitol was very bad, but it’s not the fault of the protestors primarily but that of law enforcement and those who deprived them of the necessary resources to keep people safe. The trumped up charges against protestors is unjustified when the people ultimately responsible are those who work at the Capitol and failed to create a safe environment for people – many very unhappy with the election result – to get out and be heard.