While we could use a lot of words to describe those who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, one that keeps coming to mind, even when stronger words feel more appropriate, is "audacious."
By that, I don't just mean that the rioters involved thought they could overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and undermine American democracy. But, as multiple Twitter users have put it, "They honestly thought they’d be able break into the US capitol and fly home to go to work the next day."
The more stories we hear about how surprised those who took part in the chaos are to be arrested for their actions, the harder it is not to wonder what kind of consequence-free life could possibly convince someone that they could get away with an attempted insurrection.
However, the pre-trial treatment that one such rioter is apparently receiving seems to suggest that not everyone gets the same consequences in this world.