So, back to the vast majority of January 6th protestors who didn’t sit in Pelosi’s chair or try to walk off with her podium. You know, those folks who were invited in by the Capitol Police and took selfies with those same police officers as they leisurely strolled through Statuary Hall—making sure to remain within the velvet guide ropes? Those folks? Even if they walk away with only a misdemeanor conviction—or no conviction at all, the left will have won that round. By dragging them through the Federal justice system, draining their net worth, browbeating them, and scaring the hell out of them, the left will have ensured that for the most part, very few of these folks will ever show overt, albeit peaceful resistance to even the most obvious corruption by leftist DC elites.

Bottom line? No conviction is necessary. The process has indeed become the punishment.