Episode 13: The Panglossian Fallacy

Topics include the strange story of John Pierce, the Capitol Insurrection attorney representing 17 defendants who appears to be missing court dates because he is an anti-vaxer who is on a ventilator, the arrest of several violent offenders in the Capitol Insurrection, including #flaggaitercophater, a California Proud Boy identified by volunteer internet sleuths working to protect electoral democracy in the US from the threat of political violence, an analysis of a controversial Reuters article that relied on anonymous sources to suggest that the FBI has rejected the possibility that more high profile defendants involved in planning "stop the steal" protests would be charged in the Insurrection, a description of the latest developments in the investigation by the House Select Committee to investigate January sixth, and my critique of the failure of political science to adequately address the danger of authoritarian populism in the United States. https://www.lawfareblog.com/justice-department-shouldnt-open-pandoras-box-seditious-conspiracy https://www.emptywheel.net/2021/08/20/reuters-doesnt-mention-terrorism-when-discussing-the-january-6-investigation/