In the wake of the January 6, 2021, demonstration at the U.S. Capitol, the federal government launched the most expansive criminal investigation in modern U.S. history.

Over 1,400 individuals were charged, with the majority facing misdemeanor offenses such as trespassing, disorderly conduct, or unlawful presence—many of whom were first-time offenders exercising what they believed to be their constitutional rights.

With allegations for civil rights violations, hiding exculpatory evidence, judges turning a blind eye to peaceful protesting, not wonder things went so wrong.  ^[i] Just this month, the DOJ is now firing many prosecutors from the J6 era for various untold reasons.  ^[ii]

In summary, when 14 U.S. Senators pledged to challenge the electoral results and return the decision to the states for further review—after five key states had controversially shifted outcomes post-Election Day—opposition forces moved to halt the effort to ensure election integrity.

Reports suggest that potential threats, including pipe bombs and other disruptive tactics, were used to prevent the Senate from proceeding with objections. It is widely understood that most pro-Trump demonstrators aimed to support the Senators in casting their votes, yet the proceedings were interrupted, and individuals were somehow allowed into the Capitol.

Notably, only 87 individuals were prosecuted for violent conduct at the Capitol on January 6th, and many of them may not have been affiliated with the Republican or conservative movement. This raises the enduring question: who exactly were these offenders? ^[iii] Strangely, The FBI report did find that 26 FBI confidential informants were in Washington, D.C., on January 6th in connection with election-related protests. ^[iv]

In sum, the $3.7 Billion dollars wasted on January 6 Misdemeanor Prosecutions could have fed millions of hungry children or sent 100,000 low-income students to college – A National Tragedy of Priorities."

The price tag of J6? According to official estimates, the federal response has cost $2.7 billion in investigations, prosecutions, monitoring, jailing, court costs, and so forth. But that figure tells only part of the story. Further, there may have been another billion dollars spent defending the peaceful  protestors at the Capitol who marched for civil rights after 5 states were nefariously flipped (after election day was over) to Biden. ^[v]

Defendants—most of them middle-class citizens or veterans—have collectively spent an additional estimated $1 billion defending themselves against what many legal observers describe as frivolous or overzealous misdemeanor prosecutions.

Legal defense costs include attorney fees, lost income, travel expenses, and fines—resources that could have been spared if the federal government had simply issued citations or fines , as is standard practice for most nonviolent infractions. It is fairly obvious to any political observer, that almost all of the prosecutions were designed to crush free speech, destroy election integrity, and target protestors who hated Democrats, Communists, and Socialists.

Just a month ago, new reports from the DOJ and FBI suggest that thousands and thousands of fake ballots were flown into the USA from offshore and deposited into the voting boxes or mail after the election day was over in 2020. As election interference is na international crime, this 2020 election meddling from offshore may be wholly under the jurisdiction of the President today leaving local judges out of the picture. ^[vi]

Deputized by the President?

A little-discussed legal fact is this: In his January 6 speech, then-President Donald J. Trump invoked the concept of peaceful civic duty and representation multiple times. ^[vii] Notably, he referred to the crowd as "peaceful patriots" and "the people," and encouraged them to "peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard." Some legal analysts argue that Trump’s repeated use of such language constituted a de facto deputizing of the crowd , inviting and licensing them to attend, observe or engage at the Capitol as concerned citizens—an argument that, if supported, challenges the legitimacy of baseless charges rooted in unlawful presence.

Moreover, in First Amendment tradition, petitioning the government for redress of grievances—especially at the seat of government—is a protected right. Many protestors entered the Capitol through open doors, some waved in by security personnel, under the belief that their presence was lawful.

To this day, democrats claim that a few unarmed people dressed in Mardi Gras and Viking Costumes almost overthrew the government and ran for their lives. In the middle of the confusion, an African American capitol police officer shot and killed an unarmed woman in the People’s house. The woman, Ashli Babbit, was shot in the facial area at close range and bled to death on camera and in front of hundreds of witnesses.

Even civil rights leaders have said that the death was a bad killing. ^[viii] Meanwhile, buffoons and idiots in media still claim the unarmed Veteran Ashli Babbit was an insurrectionist while ignoring the parallels to the victims of the Kent State Massacre. ^[ix] Further, there are vast allegations that another woman named Rosanne Boyland was beaten to death on the Capitol steps. If you review the videos of Babitt and Boyland, you will wonder why these 2 unarmed women died and who cause their deaths.  The Babbitt family just settled their case against the defendants for $4.975 million. ^[x]

What Could the Wasted $3.7 Billion Have Done?

Let us turn from the legal to the humanitarian. The combined $3.7 billion spent by the federal government to punish unarmed peaceful protestors could have had historic global impact. According to the World Food Programme, just $100 can feed a starving person for an entire year . That means:

• $3.7 billion could have fed and saved 37 million people for an entire year.
• It could have eradicated famine in regions like Yemen, Sudan, Afghanistan, or Haiti .
• It could have addressed nearly half of the UN’s annual emergency food relief budget .
• It could have mitigated the 400,000 deaths and murders of innocent Americans from Fentanyl poison drug overdose while Biden was president.
• At almost no cost, all non violent protestors could have agreed to self probation.

These numbers are not political—they are human. While the federal government poured billions into prosecuting what should have been civil infractions, millions of children in the USA were hungry, homeless, or couldn’t afford a doctor or medicine . This is not merely an example of fiscal mismanagement—it is a moral failure of priorities.

Misaligned Justice

The excessive targeting of nonviolent protestors, many of whom are veterans, retirees, and working-class Americans, signals a dangerous shift in prosecutorial discretion. Rather than using restorative measures like citations, fines, or community service, the government chose mass federal political prosecution—creating a chilling precedent for civic protest.

Meanwhile, true acts of violence and destruction on January 6—committed by a minority—have been justly addressed. But to entangle peaceful demonstrators in a multibillion-dollar legal dragnet is not justice; it is state overreach.

A Call to Rethink

If we are to remain a nation committed to liberty, justice, and global leadership, we must rethink how we respond to domestic dissent. Turning the legal system in a Fascist KGB court to attack peaceful demonstrators, while neglecting: crime, election fraud, exculpatory evidence and basic civil rights, does not strengthen our democracy—it undermines it.

Future administrations must ask: Would the money be better spent healing the world, feeding the starving, and advancing peace—or prosecuting grandmothers, veterans, and churchgoers for standing on steps of the People’s House?

The next $3.7 billion may still be up for debate. Let us hope it is spent feeding lives, not fueling division. In the end, if any judge or prosecutor or their families took a penny to prosecute these peaceful protestors, they should be put in jail for life.  The American public does not tolerate fake prosecutions anymore and if the FBI catches anyone who hid exculpatory evidence to jail protestors, they should also be put in prison.

In the USA, we cannot have a nation where federal lawyers can imprison a peaceful protestor for a misdemeanor ever again.  This miscarriage of justice has been exposed and the FBI and DOJ should investigate, disbar, or even jail people who used fake evidence and baseless charges against those who were enjoying their basic “rights to assemble: and “freedom of association”.

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Commissioner George Mentz JD MBA CILS CWM® is the first in the USA to rank as a Top 50 Influencer & Thought Leader in: Management, PM, HR, FinTech, Wealth Management, and B2B according to Onalytica.com and Thinkers360.com. George Mentz JD MBA CILS is a CWM Chartered Wealth Manager ®, global speaker - educator, tax-economist, international lawyer and CEO of the GAFM Global Academy of Finance & Management ®. The GAFM is a EU accredited graduate body that trains and certifies professionals in 150+ nations under standards of the: US Dept of Education, ACBSP, ISO 21001, ISO 991, ISO 29993, QAHE, ECLBS, and ISO 29990 standards. Mentz is also an award-winning author and award winning graduate law professor of wealth management of one of the top 30 ranked law schools in the USA.Mentzenborg is just a term of art to describe the theory and process by George Mentz JD MBA ChE. CWM is for Chartered Wealth Manager ® and ChE Chartered Economist ® is a credential for economics professionals.

^[i] Trump: Jan. 6 Committee Deleting Evidence a 'Criminal Act' | Newsmax.com

^[ii] Bondi Fires J6 Prosecutors

^[iii] Hawley, Cruz, and other Republican senators plan to reject the Electoral College election certification | Vox

^[iv] Jan. 6 report leads to claims of FBI fraud and setup | AP News

^[v] The Digital Insurrection to Overthrow Trump | Newsmax.com

^[vi] FBI director to present evidence of Chinese interference in 2020 election to congress

^[vii] wsj.com Trump Deputizes Protestors to Peacefully Protest at the Capitol Grounds

^[viii] I’ve watched every video I can find of the Capitol Police shooting Trump supporter, Ashli Babbit. It’s a bad shooting. Shaun King, Civil Rights Activist  (@shaunking) January 8, 2021

^[ix] Ashli Babbitt, Jan. 6 insurrectionist portrayed as martyr by some, had violent past | PBS News

^[x] Ashli Babbitt wrongful-death suit to be settled for nearly $5 million - The Washington Post