It was a protest that got out of hand. Those who committed violence deserved custodial sentences, but the rest who were mere trespassers never should have seen the inside of a jail cell.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/proud-boys-leader-sentenced-2...
"To prepare for the attack on the Capitol, Tarrio and the other leaders of the Ministry of Self Defense established a chain of command, chose a time and place for their attack, and intentionally recruited others who would follow their top-down leadership and who were prepared to engage in physical violence if necessary."
It’s totally a normal part of the past half century plus of the peaceful transition of power.
People get together on DC to help the outgoing president threaten and scare congress, to see if they change the way the election is called.
It’s just one of those things that people do to see if America is actually strong, and if congress folds, well you know you need a new congress.
Its tradition! Its like a hazing!
I mean, there was a whole plan around certifying the results of the election and it's not entirely clear how many people would have gone along with it if things had gone just a little bit different.
I agree that Jan 6 was not that big a deal. However, Jan 6 was just one part of a larger, nearly successful conspiracy to overturn the election. The conspiracy included pressuring the Vice President to exceed his authority; fraudulent electors; and extorting false claims of fraud from states.
As on-the-nose as the Democrats are, I don't think that would have been possible if the public thought he orchestrated a serious attempt at a coup.
In the immediate aftermath of Jan 6, even his fellow republicans called it a coup, until they changed their minds for political expediency.