Some Jan. 6 Rioters May Use Police Brutality as a Defense
The New York Times
Half a dozen defendants in the assault on the Capitol are using video to try to make a case that they were simply protecting themselves and others. They face skepticism and an uphill legal battle.
With the first trials connected to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol set to begin early next year, defense lawyers have started in earnest to road test strategies for defeating the government’s charges.
Some, in the most complicated cases, will most likely challenge the allegation that an organized conspiracy to storm the building predated any violence. Others, looking to offload the blame their clients face, may contend that they were authorized by President Donald J. Trump to take part in the attack.
But one group of lawyers representing those accused of assaulting the police is planning to make a more audacious — and more difficult — legal claim: They say they intend to argue that the officers themselves used excessive force on Jan. 6 and that their clients merely responded, acting in defense of other people or in their own defense.
