"Not me, I was in Cleveland" defense.

                                   “Not me, I was in Cleveland” Defense

To date, almost 600 criminals have been arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, tried and convicted by the United States Department of Justice in a court of law, and convicted for various violent crimes associated with the January 6th, 2001 assault on the United States Capitol. Many will be incarcerated for several years. Other miscreants are still being sought. None of the principal organizers of this insurrection have yet been charged, with one sole exception, Donald J. Trump, former President of the United States of America.

I thought the following legal concepts, in the American system of jurisprudence, might bear thinking about by all United States Citizens, in the coming weeks and months ahead.

“Aiding and abetting” is the act of assisting, counseling, or encouraging someone to commit a gross misdemeanor, misdemeanor, or felony. For example, a person who provides a gun to someone who uses the firearm to commit armed robbery is considered to have aided in the commission of the offense.

A defendant aids and abets in a crime when he or she has knowledge of the principal perpetrator's unlawful purpose and he or she specifically intends to, and does in fact, aid, facilitate, promote encourage, or instigate the perpetrator's commission of that crime.

An accessory-after-the-fact is someone who assists 1) someone who has committed a crime, 2) after the person has committed the crime, 3) with knowledge that the person committed the crime, and 4) with the intent to help the person avoid arrest or punishment.