Don’t Overreact to the Capitol Riots
Updated at 6:40 p.m. ET on April 23, 2021.
Attempts by President Donald Trump and his insurrectionist supporters to overturn the results of the 2020 election are infuriating, tantamount to an attack on the heart of American democracy. Death threats against Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and others illustrate how much worse things could have been amid the chaos. To safeguard the rule of law and to deter future violence, the Capitol lawbreakers must be brought to justice. And politicians who fueled false beliefs that the election was stolen ought to be voted out of office. Their bad-faith pandering harmed the country.
There is, however, another imperative: Members of the supermajority who disdain the attack on the Capitol must keep their heads. Precisely because the transgression was outrageous, clouded judgment is likely, as are responses that do
