--- title: Why Its Critical that Jan. 6 Rioters’ Rights Are Respected description: Breaking news and analysis from time.com. Politics, world news, photos, video, tech reviews, health, science, and entertainment news. canonical: https://time.com/6107063/january-6-prisoners-alleged-mistreatment/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-10-14T18:48:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T10:25:04.179Z article:section: Politics og:title: Why Its Critical that Jan. 6 Rioters’ Rights Are Respected og:description: Breaking news and analysis from time.com. Politics, world news, photos, video, tech reviews, health, science, and entertainment news. og:url: https://time.com/6107063/january-6-prisoners-alleged-mistreatment/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25664b78ae57d281/698a1dcb22fb850479e2ca3d/GettyImages-1235383554.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: U.S.-WASHINGTON, D.C.-RIGHT-WING RALLY og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Its Critical that Jan. 6 Rioters’ Rights Are Respected twitter:description: Breaking news and analysis from time.com. Politics, world news, photos, video, tech reviews, health, science, and entertainment news. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25664b78ae57d281/698a1dcb22fb850479e2ca3d/GettyImages-1235383554.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why It's Critical that Jan. 6 Rioters’ Rights Are Respected > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Oct 14, 2021 6:48 PM UTC  People gather near the Capitol building during a right-wing rally in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 18, 2021. People gather near the Capitol building during a right-wing rally in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 18, 2021. Liu Jie--Xinhua/Getty Images  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Oct 14, 2021 6:48 PM UTC I think it’s important to admit when my professional judgement was wrong. I did so freely at the start of this month, [acknowledging](https://time.com/6103451/campaign-letters-vote-democrats/) that my skepticism for old-fashioned letter-writing campaigns was statistically off. (It turns out that it works, and they’re going gang-busters this week as Virginia’s races hit their final stretch.) I was probably too rosy about Democrats’ [willingness](https://time.com/6089503/andrew-cuomo-quits/) to (eventually) forgive disgraced New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. And my [skepticism](https://time.com/5781743/joe-biden-new-hampshire-primary/) about Joe Biden’s chances [have been](https://www.chron.com/news/nation-world/article/Biden-s-less-scripted-demeanor-balances-Obama-s-1621958.php) as sincere as they have been long held and also proven incorrect. But the error in judgment that smacks the most right now is that I was outright incredulous at the “Justice for J6” [rally](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/09/18/justice-j6-rally-capitol-riot-dc/), which sought to cast the [mob](https://time.com/5927664/capital-siege-trump-supporters/) that [stormed](https://time.com/5938095/video-capitol-riot-impeachment-trial/) the Capitol on [Jan. 6](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/09/18/justice-j6-rally-capitol-riot-dc/) as victims. These were violent individuals who marched, on [orders](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/09/us/capitol-rioters.html) from President Donald Trump, to the Capitol with the express intent of [setting aside](https://www.npr.org/2021/10/07/1044015379/senate-report-details-trumps-efforts-to-use-doj-to-overturn-election-results) the results of last year’s elections to [keep](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/30/us/politics/trump-justice-department-election.html) Trump in power. The crowd was undemocratic, unruly and, frankly, un-American. The nonsense Trump spewed that day and many times [since](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/08/06/trumps-brazen-attempt-overturn-2020-election-timeline/) has perverted faith in the American experiment and corrupted future elections. As I sat writing this last night, Trump even put out a statement demanding Republicans boycott elections in 2022 and 2024 if, in his words, “we don’t solve the Presidential Election Fraud of 2020 (which we have thoroughly and conclusively documented).” Like I said: [“pure insanity.”](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/emails-detail-trump-s-pressure-justice-department-overturn-2020-election-n1270864) As it turns out, hours before Trump’s latest outburst, a federal judge [referred](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/dc-jail-conditions-contempt-investigation/2021/10/13/65292cd0-2ba1-11ec-985d-3150f7e106b2%5Fstory.html) dozens of inmates’ treatment in D.C. jails to the Department of Justice. Could, perhaps, the same conspiracy theorists who believe Trump was cheated of a victory last November also be correct in asserting the government is mistreating those it arrested for acting on those beliefs? Roughly 40 suspects are now in jail in D.C. awaiting trial for charges stemming from that day, and their lawyers say their rights are being denied. Some, they say, have been denied access to food and showers. U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth said jail officials failed for four months to move ahead with treatment for one defendant who broke his wrist while held without bail. A surgery initially scheduled for June still hasn’t taken place. Lamberth called it “more than just inept and bureaucratic jostling of papers.” The suspect, who faces four felony charges including spraying officers with pepper-spray gel and rioting at the Capitol, hardly cuts a sympathetic silhouette. Christopher Worrell is an accused member of the Florida Proud Boys, an extremist group that is alleged to have helped lead the breach of the Capitol back in January. He is accused of traveling to D.C. on other people’s money, marching on the Capitol wearing tactical gear and radio equipment and aiming his ire at officers just before the barriers were breached. His charging [document](https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/case-multi-defendant/file/1379556/download) is fairly inscrutable. If you’re looking for a classic face for a victim, Worrell isn’t where you’d start. Still, it’s tough to ignore the facts of what followed, especially in a bureau of prisons widely known to be overwhelmed, under-resourced and branded a [human-rights violation](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/04/19/dc-jail-lockdown-covid/) just two miles away from the U.S. Capitol. For more than a year, the District’s Department of Corrections kept inmates in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day in the name of constricting the spread of COVID-19 among inmates. Advocates have, not wrongly, argued those choices have unfairly burdened Black inmates who are merely awaiting trial. In a country that postures as a beacon for human rights, D.C.’s prisons aren’t the transmission tower. There was a pretty big eye-roll when [fewer](https://time.com/6099532/january-6-rally-washington/) than 450 protesters showed up last month to call attention to the rights of Jan. 6 protesters, arguing that they were victims of political oppression and suffering for speaking the truth. It seemed like a fringe sequel to the bloody attempt to derail Congress’ sign-off on election results. But the lack of participation a few weeks ago doesn’t negate that maybe the activists weren’t entirely wrong about detention facilities that are widely acknowledged as harsh. As Lamberth asked jail officials and their lawyers about the conditions facing the prisoners awaiting trial: “Does no one care?” Most of Washington was rightly offended by the Jan. 6 riot. For months, the vestiges were seen on Capitol Hill in the form of fencing, military sentries and beefed-up security. Those crowds violated Washington’s standards. But Washington should also be offended by the treatment of some of the people in those crowds in prison. To be perfectly clear: nothing that happened on Jan. 6 is excusable. The violence that played out on Capitol Hill was unacceptable then and remains so today. But just as those who were arrested during last year’s protests against police brutality deserved to have their civil rights respected, so too do the insurrectionists who sought to topple democracy. It’s for courts, not police in the field or corrections officers in extrajudicial settings, to decide their fate. And that brings discomfort, at least to me. Emotionally, it’s impossible to summon the same feelings I have for those marching for racial justice as those marching to set aside [dozens](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/judges-trump-election-lawsuits/2020/12/12/e3a57224-3a72-11eb-98c4-25dc9f4987e8%5Fstory.html) upon [dozens](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-judges/u-s-judiciary-shaped-by-trump-thwarts-his-election-challenges-idUSKBN28B60O) of judges’ rulings that Joe Biden is the rightful President of the United States. Intellectually, though, if you stand for one group’s right to be processed through a criminal justice system fairly and with respect, you have to stand for the others. Because that’s the thing about rights: they extend to everyone in this country, even the people you vehemently disagree with. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6107063/january-6-prisoners-alleged-mistreatment/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6107063/january-6-prisoners-alleged-mistreatment/"},"headline":"Why It's Critical that Jan. 6 Rioters’ Rights Are Respected","datePublished":"2021-10-14T18:48:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T10:25:04.179Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/6107063/january-6-prisoners-alleged-mistreatment/","keywords":["The D.C. 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