By AFP Staff
Federal prosecutors have quietly dropped all charges against Jan. 6 protester Christopher Kelly, who had been arrested and slapped with multiple charges following the media and Democrat frenzy in the aftermath of the pro-Trump demonstration.
At first prosecutors claimed that they had Kelly dead to rights after his social media showed the New York man boasting about shutting down the federal building and forcing everyone into the basement. He was subsequently arrested and charged with unlawful entry, obstruction of an official proceeding, and other crimes.
In March, federal prosecutors hyped up their prosecutions, saying the allegations against the 440 Jan. 6 protesters, who had been arrested and charged, were “unprecedented” in scale, and that the Capitol protest “is likely the most complex investigation ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice.”
On June 1, however, prosecutors settled with one of the first of the protesters to go to trial, and all the charges against Kelly were quietly dismissed without prejudice.
What has changed?
In the mainstream media uproar following the Jan. 6 demonstration in Washington, D.C., top Democrats and the liberal media exaggerated the extent of the protest, claiming it was a violent insurrection and even an attempted coup of our government. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) was one of the worst, saying she feared for her life that day and even felt like she had been to war. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) went so far as to claim that President Donald Trump and other supporters of the protests were “accessories to murder.” Just what murder she was referring to is unknown, however, since only one person was killed that day as a direct result of the demonstration—protester Ashli Babbitt, who was actually shot and killed by a Capitol Hill police officer.
Eventually, Kelly, along with over 400 other protesters, were swept up by the FBI and Homeland Security and were charged with multiple crimes. As time goes on, and the dust begins to settle, however, the much-ballyhooed insurrection, except for a few bad apples, now looks more and more like it was nearly entirely peaceful with new video showing dozens of the so-called pro-Trump insurrectionists milling about the halls of the Capitol, taking in the sights and the history of the building as if they were on an official tour, as this newspaper has reported.
According to a recent Washington Times report, the Department of Justice initially said that Kelly had boasted that he was headed to Washington that day with “ex-NYPD and some Proud Boys” to participate in “the most historic event of my life.” Federal prosecutors admitted into evidence Facebook messages where Kelly told friends and family that he was inside the Capitol and was “taking this back by force now, no more BS.” Another message he posted says, “We’re inside! Hearing stopped, sending everyone to the basement.”
If all anyone watched or read was mainstream news, one would think that all of the protesters were insane, violent traitors bent on murdering any legislators they found. Not one protester who has been arrested, however, has been hit with anything more than vague conspiracy charges or simple curfew violations. Conspicuously absent are any charges of sedition, insurrection, domestic terrorism or even attempted murder.
Court watchers believe that Kelly is one of many protesters, who will see their charges quietly dropped in plea agreements with federal prosecutors in the coming weeks. Don’t hold your breath hoping that CNN will change its sensationalized reporting to reflect this new reality, though. CNN, MSNBC, and others like it will continue to milk the raucous mostly peaceful Jan. 6 protests because they are desperate for a ratings bump in the hopes that if they continue to lie about that day they can save their dying industry.
wow, American “free” press means “loose and free with facts”. I like how they say Democrats uproar following the Jan.6 demonstration exaggerated the extent of the protest, claiming it was a violent insurrection and even an attempted coup of our government. It is complex because there are hundreds and hundreds of people there which we all saw many committing acts of violence against Capitol Police, breaking windows and trying to shove past a police line, nearly crushing an officer, spraying bear urine and mace on police officers, taking police shields and using them against police, and there was clear evidence of much of it. There’s a lot of evidence to process for a lot of people, and if they don’t have all the evidence, their ducks lined up to the point of where they think they can prosecute, the drop charges. That’s nothing new. There is plenty of evidence that Mike Pence was in danger, soneone calling out for AOC in a menacing way (and the republicant representative near her said how grateful she was to have a man there to protect her and she was glad she sent her kids home, and how scared she was… turned around and said AOC was exaggerating. A Repub. House Rep. helped barricade doors, how says that watching the video (which is unquestionably violent and offensive to real patriots) it just looks like any other day at the Capitol with tours. They are lying, blatantly and without shame or embarrassment when it is clear they are lying– facts are facts, but Republicans have to rely on alternative facts and flat out lies. It’s disgusting, it’s an abomination. If you only had to rely on “liberal media” (anything compared to this right-wing propaganda crap would seem “liberal” as if Liberal is a bad thing- read Jesus’ sermon on the mount – he sounds like such a bleeding heart libtard)loving ALL of your neighbors, without exception, even your enemies, and being PEACENAKERS, having HUMILITY instead of arrogance, helping the poor and needy – ya’ll hate that…. well, a lot of conservatives only get their “news” from “Opinion” shows of on-air personalities on Fox (not news, it’s just opinion)and other right-wing propaganda media like Newsmax, so they don’t get to hear two sides, they only hear the vitriol and lies of the far-right who have tricked them into believing what they are told, no matter how absurd, and voting for people who only care what their wealthy donors and big corporations want, and screw the average voter. Look up their voting records and see for yourselves. READ!