The arrests this week of five Florida militiamen who called themselves the “B Squad” for their violent actions on Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol serve as a helpful reminder that the Justice Department is still in the process of bringing the insurrectionists who attacked American democracy that day—now over 860 and counting—to justice.
The details of their case, moreover, are chilling reminders of just how close the nation came to catastrophe that day, saved largely by the valor of police officers who defended the Capitol—and the deep implications of these unfolding arrests for the Republican Party, after NBC News identified the ringleader of the B Squad as a recently defeated GOP legislative candidate, a man who has not yet been charged.
