On Saturday, Sept. 18, supporters of former President Donald Trump attended the Justice for J6 rally, a protest against the incarceration of those who participated in the riot at the capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6. Not punishing those who participated in the riot would disturb the balance of justice and condone an invasion of the U.S. Capitol.

A Democracy shouldn’t have to worry about an attack on the capital occurring. While there is nothing wrong with protesting to safeguard what you believe in, the riot on the capitol was on a whole other level. Those arrested were done so because of their participation in an undemocratic, shocking riot entirely uncommon in the U.S. The Justice for J6 Rally only condoned their actions. 

The January riot started as a pro-Trump rally but got violent when protesters broke into the capitol while the House of Representatives was in session. Shots were fired, and the capitol was vandalized. More than 600 people were arrested for participating in the riot, and rightly so, seeing as they broke the law and left the entire country in shock and horror at the events of that day.

The recent Justice for J6 rally was luckily peaceful. However, what they were justifying was an intrusion of the capital. The rally wanted to ensure that those who participated in the riot would not receive consequences for an attempted coup.

After the riot at the capitol back in January, police were expecting things to get out of hand at the Justice for J6 rally, held in the same location. However, the turnout was lower than anticipated and there weren’t any significant acts of violence at the event.

Trump has condoned the Justice for J6 rally, claiming that the 2020 presidential election was rigged and people were simply protesting on Jan. 6. He has supported those who broke the law to keep him in the presidency, and now he continues to support them at the Justice for J6 rally.

With between 400 and 450 people protesting, the rally had a lower turnout than expected, and it exemplified the dwindling number of Trump supporters. Now that Trump is no longer in the presidency, his influence is dying down, and the low attendance at this most recent rally only demonstrates that.

However, those who did attend the rally were condoning something completely undemocratic and harmful to justice. The invasion of the capital was wrong, and those who participated in it should be justly dealt with through the law through charges of vandalization, violence on Capitol grounds, and staying in an unauthorized section on Capitol grounds. It is vital that these rioters face consequences so these actions don’t happen again.