--- title: More January 6ths Are Inevitable. How We React Is Crucial description: In the years ahead, it’s likely that we’ll experience other January 6-style moments. How we respond will shape our country's future. canonical: https://time.com/6137403/january-6th-political-violence/ author: Elliot Ackerman article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-01-06T19:20:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-14T09:18:09.648Z article:section: Ideas og:title: More January 6ths Are Inevitable. How We React Is Crucial og:description: In the years ahead, it’s likely that we’ll experience other January 6-style moments. How we respond will shape our country's future. og:url: https://time.com/6137403/january-6th-political-violence/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37f3fb3492f13759/698a214716d884687dc3a366/GettyImages-1230457964.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: January 6th Capitol Attack og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: More January 6ths Are Inevitable. How We React Is Crucial twitter:description: In the years ahead, it’s likely that we’ll experience other January 6-style moments. How we respond will shape our country's future. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37f3fb3492f13759/698a214716d884687dc3a366/GettyImages-1230457964.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 03:29 video:published: 2022-01-04 section: politics topics: January 6 Capitol attack, FBI investigation, federal prosecutions, far-right extremism, militias, political violence, public opinion, radicalization genre: news report, investigative tones: serious, analytical, concerned, reflective emotions: concern (medium), regret (low), anger (low) sentiment: negative audience: general news readers, policy observers, legal and security professionals, voters people: Jacob Angeli, Robert Palmer, Eric Munchell, Joshua James organizations: FBI, Oath Keepers, QAnon, U.S. Capitol content_suitability: violence [00:57-01:03]; crime [00:19-02:43]; politics [00:00-03:29]; war [01:55-02:01] transcript_source: automatic transcription transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # More January 6ths Are Inevitable. How We React Is Crucial > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=83d48b49-6ff8-4f98-accb-75cccda07f12&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: A Year Later: The January 6 Investigation [Watch (HLS stream): A Year Later: The January 6 Investigation](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vyxGL9i6.m3u8) (3:29)  _Published 2022-01-04. 727 people have been charged in the Capitol insurrection so far._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary The video reviews the first year of the FBI's investigation into the January 6 Capitol attack, noting more than 720 people have been charged. It profiles several rioters, including Jacob Angeli, Robert Palmer, Eric Munchell and Joshua James, and their sentences or charges. It also covers polling on Americans' views of the investigation and experts' concern about radicalization spreading to local institutions. ## Key points - The FBI has charged more than 720 people who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6. (00:19) - Jacob Angeli, the so-called QAnon shaman, was given a 41-month jail term after pleading guilty to obstructing an official proceeding. (00:35) - Robert Palmer pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement officers and was sentenced to more than five years, the longest sentence given so far. (01:03) - Eric Munchell, known as zip-tie guy, and his mother are out on house arrest awaiting trial on charges including trespassing. (01:36) - Joshua James, an Army veteran wounded in Iraq, is facing several serious charges and had become involved with the Oath Keepers militia. (01:55) - At least one in 10 of the people who stormed the Capitol that day had some affiliation with the military. (02:16) - The FBI says it is still looking for 350 people who committed violent acts at the Capitol that day. (02:29) - Experts worry the investigation is radicalizing more Americans and that political violence could shift to local school boards, health officials' homes and state capitals. (02:54) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:19] Scale of the FBI investigation. The reporter introduces the largest federal investigation in U.S. history and the divergent narratives about January 6. - [00:19 to 01:03] Angeli and Palmer cases. Charges, guilty pleas and sentences for Jacob Angeli and Robert Palmer are outlined. - [01:03 to 01:55] Palmer's remorse and Munchell's case. Palmer expresses shame in court, and Eric Munchell and his mother are described as awaiting trial. - [01:55 to 02:24] Joshua James and military ties. James's background, his Oath Keepers involvement, and the share of rioters with military affiliation are covered. - [02:24 to 02:54] Ongoing arrests and public opinion. The FBI's continuing search for suspects and recent polling on public attitudes are discussed. - [02:54 to 03:29] Concerns about radicalization. Security analysts warn that political violence could spread to local institutions. ## Key quotes - [01:12] Robert Palmer: "I realized that we, meaning Trump supporters, were lied to by those that at the time had great power" - [02:01] Joshua James's friends and neighbors: "They described him as a hero, as a family man, as a patriot." - [03:03] reporter: "these people are more likely to show up at local school board meetings, outside health officials' homes, state capitals" ## Questions this video answers - How many people have been charged in the Capitol attack? [00:19] - What sentence did Jacob Angeli receive? [00:38] - What sentence did Robert Palmer receive and for what? [01:03] - Why does the FBI say it is still searching for people? [02:29] - How do Americans' views of the investigation differ now? [02:36] - What do security analysts fear could happen next? [02:54] ## Content suitability - violence [00:57-01:03]: Palmer hurled a fire extinguisher and a plank at police officers during the Capitol attack. - crime [00:19-02:43]: Discussion of criminal charges, guilty pleas, prison sentences and ongoing arrests tied to the Capitol attack. - politics [00:00-03:29]: Coverage of the January 6 Capitol attack, its investigation and political divisions over it. - war [01:55-02:01]: Brief reference to a veteran who was wounded in Iraq.  by [Elliot Ackerman](https://time.com/author/elliot-ackerman/)  ## Elliot Ackerman Jan 6, 2022 7:20 PM UTC 727 people have been charged in the Capitol insurrection so far.  by [Elliot Ackerman](https://time.com/author/elliot-ackerman/)  ## Elliot Ackerman Jan 6, 2022 7:20 PM UTC Shortly after 9 p.m., on February 27, 1933, the Berlin fire station received an alarm: the Reichstag, the center of German government, was on fire. This was four weeks after Adolf Hitler had assumed power as Chancellor. By 11:30 p.m., firefighters had put out the blaze, which had left the Reichstag a charred carapace. On inspection, firefighters and police discovered gasoline cans bound with other flammable materials inside the building, indicating arson. Authorities identified the culprit, a 23-year-old communist named Marinus van der Lubb, who was swiftly arrested. He would be tried and executed within a year, and Hitler would use the Reichstag fire as a pretense to blame communists and to declare a national emergency. This allowed him to eliminate some of his key political rivals and consolidate his power by suspending civil liberties inside Germany. It has been a year since the January 6 insurrection, an event that has drawn fair comparisons to the Reichstag fire. Those comparisons are worth revisiting as we enter the New Year, one beset with potential political flashpoints equal to those of 2021\. Whether it be critical Supreme Court decisions in cases such as [_Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health_](https://time.com/6116072/mississippi-abortion-supreme-court-jackson-womens-health/) or voting rights and the midterm elections, the result of [ever-increasing polarization](https://time.com/6133380/us-avert-civil-war/) in a society is the increased likelihood of political violence. What might be the result of such violence? It’s worth considering who wins and who loses in the next fire. The evocation of Nazism to discredit one’s political rivals is, admittedly, a tired device. However, the Reichstag fire is worth considering not because of what it demonstrates on ideological grounds, but rather on tactical ones. Like January 6, competing narratives emerged in the wake of the fire. From the outset, Hitler and his allies were keen to prove that Lubb, the arsonist, had been part of a vast, sinister communist plot, even though most historians believe he acted alone. It was in the Nazi’s interest for the arson to be part of a plot and preferably a large one; that’s because the size of that plot would be directly proportional to the threat it represented to Germany, and so directly proportional the powers Hitler wanted to consolidate for himself to protect the state against this threat. [**_Read more about the Jan. 6 anniversary_**](https://time.com/tag/january-6/) Nominal “protection of the state” is what allowed Hitler to use the Reichstag fire to thoroughly discredit his political opposition. It was the German communists—not Hitler’s own national socialists—who had attacked the Reichstag. Thus, according to the logic Hitler had been presenting to the public long before the fire, the communists had proven themselves enemies of Germany by attacking a symbol of Germany: the Reichstag. And so by default, the communists had placed their opponents—the Nazis—in the role of Germany’s protector. A critical mistake, even if not one that the communist leadership necessarily supported. Like the Reichstag, the U.S. Capitol is a symbol and institution of the state. In the years ahead, it’s likely that we’ll experience other January 6-style moments. With both sides spinning events, it may be difficult to distinguish which of these crises are political theater and which are true threats to our democratic institutions. How we understand these moments and respond is likely to determine our democracy’s future. Although the courts have handed down substantive prison sentences for some [perpetrators of the January 6 insurrection](https://time.com/6133336/jan-6-capitol-riot-arrests-sentences/), the politicians who instigated the attack on the Capitol have gone unpunished, unless one counts the anemic [bi-partisan commission](https://time.com/6133257/january-6-investigation-capitol-riot-fbi/) tasked to investigate the insurrection. Such impunity might lead one to believe that violence akin to January 6 can prove politically effective; this would be a mistake. Democrats have, largely, been unsuccessful in using the January 6 insurrection as a tool to hold their rivals accountable, but this doesn’t mean that such accountability—or even a purge of rivals—wouldn’t be possible under similar conditions; if, say, a January 6-style attack on institutions were to repeat itself with different, more ruthless political leadership at the helm of American institutions. In the lead up to the [2020 Election](https://time.com/5936036/secret-2020-election-campaign/)—whose aftermath many correctly predicted would be chaotic and violent—the privately organized [Transition Integrity Project (TIP)](https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/7013152/Preventing-a-Disrupted-Presidential-Election-and.pdf) embarked upon imagining such scenarios. Hosted by nonpartisan nonprofit Project Democracy Project, whose mission is “to hold the President and the Executive Branch accountable to the laws and longstanding practices that have protected our democracy through both Democratic and Republican Administrations,” the TIP was comprised of former senior-officials from both parties. They conducted a series of wargames around four possible electoral outcomes: an ambiguous result; a clear Biden win; a clear Trump win; a narrow Biden win. Although a number of these scenarios resulted in no clear election winner by Inauguration Day—with political violence erupting in the streets—what was clear in each scenario was that the side which first aimed its political violence at state institutions found its legitimacy at a significant disadvantage, i.e. whomever escalated the political conflict into a violent one suffered. A final report from the wargames noted how those playing Team Trump “encouraged chaos and violence in the streets and aimed to provoke Team Biden into subverting norms—even as Team Trump itself sabotaged traditional norms—so that Team Biden could be accused of hypocrisy or even illegality.” With the outcome of the election never truly in doubt, Biden supporters largely stayed at home in its aftermath; however, had a few Republican state secretaries not held the line when counting ballots, it’s not difficult to imagine two warring factions in America’s streets. **Read More:** [_For the Jan. 6 Rioters, Justice Is Still Coming_](https://time.com/6133257/january-6-investigation-capitol-riot-fbi/) Rightwing apologists for January 6 have pointed to leftwing violence in the summer of 2020 to contextualize and even justify the violence at the Capitol. As we enter 2022, it might prove similarly tempting for those on the left to use January 6 as justification for their own attacks against government institutions. It isn’t difficult to imagine protestors in the near future storming state capitols amidst claims of voter disenfranchisement (on the left) or election fraud (on the right) in a governor’s race; or, at the federal level, it isn’t difficult to imagine protestors breaching the confines of the Supreme Court given the high-stakes rulings that will soon be announced. Such acts likely would place whoever engages in them, as well as their agenda, at a distinct disadvantage, as has been the case for Republicans, with nearly three-quarters of Americans believing that those who attacked the Capitol were [“threatening democracy](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/majority-americans-jan-attack-threatened-democracy-poll/story?id=81990555).” It would place a weapon in the hands of the opposition, one they could potentially use to consolidate power in a radical fashion. This is how Hitler used the Reichstag fire. It was a gift, one he benefited from greatly. Walter Gempp, the head of the Berlin fire department who’d commanded the response at the Reichstag later claimed the Nazis obstructed the response of his units, causing the fire to burn longer than it otherwise might have. After publicly making these claims, he was swiftly imprisoned. Years later, he was found dead, strangled in his cell. 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