Dallas Morning News: Was Jan. 6 an insurrection? Label fight rages a year after mob attacked U.S. Capitol

WASHINGTON – One year after the worst attack on the U.S. Capitol since the War of 1812, disagreements rage. Who was responsible? How harshly should those involved be punished?

And, fundamentally, was it an insurrection?

Few Republicans are willing to characterize the events of Jan. 6 that way. The preferred term among defenders of Donald Trump is “riot.” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz calls it a “violent terrorist attack.”

On the left, it’s an article of faith that the mob that swarmed the Capitol, encouraged by Trump that day to “fight like hell” to block certification of his defeat, wanted to overturn a fair election. Whether they had guns or not, they used plenty of makeshift weapons – hockey sticks, bear spray, helmets and shields wrested away from outnumbered police.

That, by definition, is an insurrection – a violent attempt to take control of the government. …

“The insurrection was a violent affront to free and fair elections and the orderly transition of power,” said Karen Hobart Flynn, president of the liberal group Common Cause.

“January 6th interrupted two centuries of the peaceful transfer of power. It was staged by a domestic enemy fueled by the lies fed by the former president, some Republican politicians, and their allies who tried to subvert a bedrock democratic principle: that voters decide elections,” she said.