In a shocking turn of events that should probably not be surprising to anyone, it seems many of the rioters who stormed the Capitol last month didn't even vote in the very election of which they were trying to "stop the steal."
According to an analysis by CNN, at least eight of the people facing criminal charges for their role in the coup attempt did not vote last November.
They were there to "Stop the Steal" and to keep the President they revered in office, yet records show that some of the rioters who stormed the US Capitol did not vote in the very election they were protesting. https://t.co/tI9JFu5J4n
— CNN (@CNN) February 1, 2021
CNN analyzed the voting records of more than 80 people who were arrested for their roles in the January 6 incident.
They ranged in age from 21 to 65 and hailed from several different states.
Among those who didn't vote was an elderly man who was found in his van with a loaded gun and several rounds of ammunition, and a young Missouri woman who was seen on Snapchat showing off a piece of Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's nameplate that had been ripped from the entrance to her office.
Another of the insurrectionists CNN analyzed was 25-year-old Jack Griffith from Tennessee.
Following the Capitol riot, Griffith posted a sad, demoralized message on social media that lamented Trump's inability to hold on to power.
"I hate to be that guy, but The New World Order beat us. Trump was our greatest champion, and it still wasn't enough. He tried his very best. He did so much, but he's only one man..."
According to CNN's analysis, Griffith did not vote in 2020.
Instead, he helped storm the Capitol and is now facing criminal charges.
According to Jessica Stern, a professor at Boston University and an expert on extremism, the insurrectionists may have chosen not to vote simply because they believed Trump's so-called "Big Lie" rhetoric that the election was "rigged" in favor of Democratic President Joe Biden anyway.
On Twitter, people pretty much couldn't believe what they were reading.
One of the risks of the big lie strategy for those pushing it was that by convincing your base that the election is rigged you're also convincing them their votes won't count https://t.co/R0RqLgaOf6
— Emily Dreyfuss (@EmilyDreyfuss) February 1, 2021
The most extreme example of privilege: you get to win the election even when you don't vote in the election.
— Elizabeth (@eamcclintock) February 1, 2021
If you don't vote you give up the right to complain.
— William A Herrick (@startrek101tos) February 1, 2021
They didn't even vote, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh https://t.co/2u0VARneEH
— Molly Jong-Fast🏡 (@MollyJongFast) February 1, 2021
Oh my God. Hey, if you don't vote, it's not “your house."
— Melissa Jo Peltier (@MelissaJPeltier) February 2, 2021
Today in Not The Onion:https://t.co/Oc2qLVJJoO pic.twitter.com/NNotIiQbt2
— Allison Durazzi (@durazzi) February 1, 2021
Of course, of course. https://t.co/5yRTTnZJG8
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) February 1, 2021
This is rich. https://t.co/tAEUEYhY8e
— Barbara Malmet (@B52Malmet) February 1, 2021
When you can't be bothered to vote in any elections, but fly to DC to overthrow one. SMDH. https://t.co/yEmEeQxCVI
— Bryan (@NuclearBryan) February 1, 2021
I hate it when I'm so caught up in planning a protest and insurrection that I forget to actually vote in the election I plan to riot over.
https://t.co/2aSdYMum6k
— Andrew “Lovell" Novell (@Andrew_Novell) February 2, 2021
If convicted of the crimes with which they are charged, many Capitol insurrectionists will face prison sentences of up to 20 years in some cases.
Elections have consequences, as they say, especially when you choose not to vote in them.
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