The investigation by the U.S. House Select Committee on Jan. 6 is still a long way from establishing a comprehensive record of the assault on the Capitol last year, so one should resist facile generalizations about the insurrectionists.
Ideally, the committee will uncover sufficient evidence to make criminal referrals to the Department of Justice for the lead conspirators, not just the foot soldiers.
Still, some basic statements about the rioters seem uncontroversial. For example, we know that many of those who attacked the seat of American democracy saw themselves as staunch defenders of the U.S. Constitution. Did they simply have their facts wrong?