There is a youtube video of a young woman expressing her utter shock and dismay at being maced as she literally tried to storm congress and disrupt the national democratic process. It is amazing to watch, just for how weirdly naive and entitled she is while right up saying they were trying for a revolution. What the hell did you think was going to happen?
Anyway, for another example of "they also didn't seem to understand it was serious," the quote from the feet-up-on-the-desk guy:
> "I'll probably be telling them this is what happened all the way to the D.C. jail," Mr. Barnett said.
He's glib about it the same way you might be about spending a night in the drunk tank after getting a little too crazy at Mardi Gras.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/elizabeth-knoxville-onion-...
Reality comes at you fast.
WTF...
It's not clear that you should bring such a mitigation with you, though, as that might help make the case that what you were doing that got you gassed was premeditated, which can up the seriousness of what you might be charged with and the potential penalties.
People are more shocked about the *reason* they stormed the Capitol than the violence. If women in pink hats stormed the Capitol during the Kavanaugh confirmation vote (well they did, but not in enough numbers to overwhelm security), the parties would be having polar opposite reactions. GOP saying it was a coup and democrats saying it was justified outrage.
These people don't realize they were pawns in Trump's bad faith attempt to steal the election. They believe they are doing the right thing. *That doesn't justify their actions, but it explains their actions.*