'It Can't Happen Again'
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This Week in Democracy
'It Can't Happen Again'
Enrique Tarrio, former leader of the Proud Boys, wasn’t at the Capitol on Jan. 6. But this week he received the?stiffest prison sentence yet?for the attack—22 years. A judge decided Tarrio deserved the punishment because he organized his followers to storm the building and prevent the peaceful transfer of presidential power.?
Tarrio was in Baltimore that day, but he was, as the?judge said, “the ultimate leader, the ultimate person who organized, who was motivated by revolutionary zeal.” The tough sentence is a reminder that?accountability for Jan. 6?can’t stop with the mob that overran police officers, smashed windows, and threatened public servants. It has to include planners and organizers.?
That same imperative for accountability?applies to Donald Trump?and anyone who conspired with him to overturn the 2020 election—the plot that led to the violence. It also applies to?the lawyers?who tried to cover an attack on democracy with a veneer of legal respectability.?
The Washington Post did the math and figured out that Trump’s plot in 2020 has now?led to 700 years’ worth?of prison sentences. More accountability should follow, and not just for rioters. What Tarrio wanted was constitutional crisis—a revolution that didn’t need rifles and explosives,?in the words of a prosecutor. Many others wanted the same thing.
And as the judge said at sentencing: “It can’t happen again. It can’t happen again.”
State of the States
In Georgia,?a judge?unsealed the final report?of the special grand jury that investigated interference in the state’s 2020 presidential election. It showed that the special grand jury recommended the indictments of 39 people, including three current or former U.S. senators. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis ultimately?sought indictments against a smaller group of 19, including former President Trump. The special grand jury did not have the power to issue indictments itself—only to give recommendations. Willis then used her discretion as a prosecutor in determining whom to charge before a regular grand jury based on the evidence available, adding a layer of practical insight to the special grand jury’s recommendations.?
In Alabama,?a three-judge panel?struck down the state’s latest attempt?at a congressional map. The Supreme Court?ruled earlier this year?that Alabama’s existing map undermined the power of Black voters. It ordered the state to draw a new map with two majority-Black districts instead of one, in line with the Voting Rights Act. State legislators?refused. The judges, who said they were “deeply troubled” by the state’s defiance,?directed an independent special master?to propose new maps. Three Republican former governors, represented by States United,?argued in a?brief?to the Supreme Court last year?that diluting minority voting power undermines democracy.???
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In The News
By?Rachel Kleinfeld,?senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and States United Advisory Board member.
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