Yes, condemn the insurrection. But also defend the right to loud, rowdy protests | Jan-Werner Mueller

There's nothing wrong with exerting pressure on elected officials in the halls of power, but Trump's supporters crossed a line

On Wednesday, Trumpist demonstrators crossed the line into insurrection. Line is not just a metaphor: one of the great democratic features of Washington is that it offers a vast physical space for people to voice protest, but also clear boundaries of where pressure on representatives must stop. The March on Washington" is nowhere mentioned in the constitution, and yet it's a great American political institution. But it is about citizens converging on their capital to contest what their representatives are doing, not to put themselves in their place and usurp power.

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