The Capitol riot took place on January 6, 2021. Since then, it has made the news several times. This time, it’s thanks to Federal Judge Beryl Howell, who oversaw the judiciary’s response to the incident.
According to her, the Capitol riots are based on “big lies,” and the country is in danger of turning toward authoritarian rule. Judge Howell made these statements for a good reason. She used the opportunity of a rare public speech to emphasize that many of those convicted for their actions were misled.
This speech comes at an important time because former President Donald Trump is preparing for his trial for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The trial would take place at the federal court in Washington, which Howell once oversaw.
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In her speech, Howell said, “My D.C judicial colleagues and I regularly see the impact of big lies at the sentencing of hundreds, hundreds of individuals who have been convicted for offense conduct on Jan. 6, 2021, when they disrupted the certification of the 2020 presidential election at the U.S. Capitol.”
“We are having a very surprising and downright troubling moment in this country when the very importance of facts is dismissed or ignored,” Howell continued. “That’s very risky business for all of us in our democracy. The facts matter.”
Furthermore, she added that the dangers on the day of the Capitol riot haven’t passed yet. The judge made these comments at the annual gala of the Women’s White Collar Defense Association.
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Howell didn’t name Trump, but it is not hard to see the correlation. She also didn’t talk about his upcoming trial, which one of her colleagues, Judge Tanya Chutkan, will lead.
However, she quoted Boston College historian Heather Cox Richardson’s claim in her new book. According to Richardson, the U.S. “is at a crossroads teetering on the brink of authoritarianism.” She also warned that “Big lies are springboards for authoritarians.”
Judge Howell gave her speech while receiving a “champion” award Tuesday night from the women’s lawyers group. She also encouraged the group to call attention to the facts about the law in their work and preserve democratic traditions.
“The skills we use every day to figure out what the facts are and what actually happened in a civil, respectful manner are a good model for our fellow citizens right now at this time of testing,” she said.
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That night, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco also received the same honor as Howell. Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch presented their awards to thank them for their hard work. She also hailed the women’s group for its efforts to promote diversity in the society.
Lynch also applauded the judges for supporting last year’s Supreme Court decision outlawing race-based affirmative action in college admissions. These women are strong forces in law and continue to break barriers over time.
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