Destroying phone now

In the weeks after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the Department of Justice came up with a plan to cast a wide net in its investigation. This would have involved investigating organizers and others who contributed to the event, according to the New York Times, but the FBI wouldn’t go for it. Why? It would be wrong to arrest people for joining groups or attending rallies or funding trips to attend rallies, but is it against the First Amendment to investigate people? Long-Suffering Federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson released an alleged rioter and had some words in court for him about his behavior once he’s no longer in detention and his religious beliefs. And was it a bad idea for someone arrested to text the group chat about his intentions to destroy his phone? Yikes.

Plus: hearings for President Biden’s first judicial nominees begin, with one name widely believed to be his pick for the next Supreme Court vacancy; Matt Gaetz, public corruption, and medical marijuana; and more demands for now-citizen Donald Trump to testify as part of lawsuits.