One by one, many of the individuals who participated in the January 6 insurrection at the United States Capitol are pleading guilty. The latest was Derrick Evans from Wayne County, West Virginia.
The former Republican member of the West Virginia House of Delegates appeared in federal court in Washington, D.C. Friday and plead guilty to a civil disorder charge. In return for his plea, several other charges were dropped. Evans faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when sentenced.
Evans famously videoed and narrated his participation in the storming of the Capitol. As our Brad McElhinny reported, “As alarms blared, Evans surged through the door and turned the camera on his own face and said, ‘The door is cracked! We’re in, we’re in.’”
During the plea hearing, Evans accepted responsibility for his actions. When U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth asked Evans if he was guilty of the charge against him, Evans replied, “Yes, your honor.” The judge followed up: “You admit it?” Evans confirmed, “Yes, your honor.”
This scenario is being repeated time and again by others who forced their way into the Capitol, but who were not ring leaders. More than 200 individuals have pleaded guilty, usually to lesser charges.
Two other West Virginians have pleaded guilty. Former Parkersburg Councilman Eric Barber admitted during his plea, “When I entered the Capitol building, I knew we weren’t supposed to be there.” The attorney for Gracyn Courtright of Hurricane told the court during her plea hearing that Courtright knew she did not have permission to enter the Capitol.
These simple acknowledgements are important. Collectively, they provide legal and public confirmations that participation in the Capitol insurrection was wrong. That is obvious to most Americans who remain appalled by the attempt to block the peaceful transfer of power, but holdouts remain.
There are the “false flag” conspiracy theories that Antifa or BLM supporters were behind the riot or that FBI informants fomented the attack. These and many other loony connivances have been disproven over and over.
Some, inspired by Donald Trump’s rhetoric, want to paint the insurrectionists as “patriots” who were attempting to stop Joe Biden from taking office because they believe, falsely, that the election was stolen.
But amid all the crazed internet chatter and extreme right-wing media subversions, these simple plea hearings are taking place. These individuals, who are no doubt acting on good advice from their lawyers, are not equivocating. There are no harangues about government plots, stolen elections or oaths to the former president.
There is only this: I did it, and I was wrong.
Perhaps unknowingly, these individuals are providing a template for those who, for whatever reason, remain unconvinced about January 6 to accept reality and acknowledge the truth.