Of the more than 725 Americans arrested so far for various crimes related to the Capitol protest on January 6, 2021, nearly every defendant faces the same two misdemeanor charges: “entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds” and “disorderly conduct in a restricted building or grounds.”
The basis for the offenses is not, as the American people repeatedly have been told, that the building was closed to the public that day. After all, hundreds of people were allowed inside as Capitol police stood by; no signage or official announcements alerted the public that the building was off-limits.
Instead, the Justice Department has argued that the presence of both Vice President Michael Pence and incoming Vice President Kamala Harris rendered entry into the Capitol on January 6 a federal crime under 18 U.S. Code section 1752.
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