I completely agree. Some of the Jan 6 protestors have recently plead guilty to trespassing or similar petty nonsense after being held im solitary confinement for over 6 months in a DC jail. Solitary confinement for what ends up being a trespassing misdemeanor.
Actual public safety is an afterthought. The point isn’t to solve a crime, but to punish enemies or to boost conviction rates.
Are we talking about the people who participated in a violent insurrection against the US, or is this another group?
If you want to have nice things (eg: a democracy) then you can’t be letting people who commit some mild treason off just because they’re dumbasses who got caught up in the moment.
The next yahoo who decides they want to try and block the peaceful transfer of power needs to 100% understand that they will be prosecuted.
The parent comment says they "plead guilty to trespassing or similar petty nonsense" so I'd assume they weren't charged with "violent insurrection" and "mild treason."
And they got Capone for tax evasion. Brushing off a conviction under 18 U.S. Code § 1752 -- which seems to be what people are being charged[0] with -- as "petty nonsense" is itself misleading, as it's the part of law that deals with "PRESIDENTIAL AND PRESIDENTIAL STAFF ASSASSINATION, KIDNAPPING, AND ASSAULT"[1]
If you don't think the goal was violent insurrection then what, specifically, do you think the people were doing there?
They were protesting just fine outside of Congress, why did they go into congress? Why were they trying to find Nancy Pelosi? Why did the Capitol police think they needed to use deadly force?
Actual public safety is an afterthought. The point isn’t to solve a crime, but to punish enemies or to boost conviction rates.