Peter Navarro walked out of a federal prison and straight onto the RNC stage this past July and told the country what many patriots already suspected: that there has been a two-tier system of justice in America. He didn’t whisper his grievance — he shouted it, reminding hardworking Americans that while cities burned during the summer unrest, men and women who showed up at the Capitol were hunted down, prosecuted, and jailed for years.
Navarro’s own incarceration was no small sideshow; he served a four-month sentence after being convicted of criminal contempt for defying a congressional subpoena tied to the January 6 investigation. He framed his imprisonment as proof that the federal government has been weaponized against political opponents, a view that resonates with millions who have watched selective prosecutions strip away liberties.
That contrast is what set off Navarro’s speech and what has kept conservatives furious: the memory of burned storefronts and nightly chaos in 2020 versus the relentless pounding on Jan. 6 defendants. Many in the Republican base see the pictures and the plea deals and the years behind bars and ask why the rule of law looks so different depending on who’s being prosecuted.
Don’t let liberal pundits pretend there wasn’t a federal response to the 2020 unrest — the Justice Department itself announced that more than 300 people were federally charged across 29 states for violence, arson, and related crimes during the demonstrations. Yet the optics mattered: local officials often signaled leniency, corporate donors rushed to bail people out, and the narrative in many blue cities was forgiveness rather than accountability.
By contrast, the Jan. 6 probe became the largest criminal investigation in modern American history, with hundreds — then over a thousand — charged and many facing stiff sentences. Conservatives argue that the scale and tenacity of the federal dragnet against fellow Americans who were at the Capitol underscores a political calculation rather than a neutral pursuit of justice.
It’s also important to be straight with the record: federal authorities said they found no evidence that antifa operatives orchestrated the Capitol breach, even as left-wing violence tore through cities during the 2020 unrest. That factual point doesn’t erase the broader grievance; it underlines the real complaint conservatives have — unequal enforcement and selective outrage from powerful institutions.
Establishment judges and Beltway commentators like to lecture about false equivalencies, but their legalistic hair-splitting doesn’t comfort small-business owners who lost everything, or families who watched arrested Jan. 6 supporters face what they consider disproportionate punishments. The anger felt by millions isn’t merely partisan theater; it’s a demand for a system that protects every American equally, not just those approved by the political class.
If we love our country, we must demand answers and accountability. Voters need to remember who enabled the double standards and who enforced them; on Election Day, hardworking Americans should send a clear message that justice that bends to politics will no longer stand. Protect the Constitution, protect free speech, and hold every official — from local prosecutors to federal agencies — to the same standard.
