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1/ One hundred ninety-three people have been charged in connection with the Capitol riot. Robert A. Pape and Keven Ruby, of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats, reviewed court documents and media coverage of the arrestees. Four findings stand out: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/02/the-capitol-rioters-arent-like-other-extremists/617895/
2/ First, they write, the attack on the Capitol was unmistakably an act of political violence, not merely an exercise in vandalism or trespassing amid a disorderly protest that had spiraled out of control.
3/ Second, a large majority of suspects in the Capitol riot have no connection to existing far-right militias, white-nationalist gangs, or other established violent organizations.
4/ Third, the demographic profile of suspected rioters is different from that of past right-wing extremists. The average age of the arrestees studied is 40. Two-thirds are 35 or older, and 40 percent are business owners or hold white-collar jobs. Only 9 percent are unemployed.
5/ Fourth, most of the insurrectionists do not come from deep-red strongholds. Of those arrested for their role in the Capitol riot, more than half came from counties that Joe Biden won; one-sixth came from counties that Donald Trump won with less than 60 percent of the vote.
6/ “The Capitol riot revealed a new force in American politics,” Pape and Ruby write. “Preventing further violence from this movement will require a deeper understanding of its activities and participants.” https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/02/the-capitol-rioters-arent-like-other-extremists/617895/
