Closing Thought–24May21 Those that have been arrested for their part in the capitol insurrection and trying all avenues to avoid taking responsibility for their actions. Now some are claiming it was not their fault they just got caught up in the moment. Christopher Grider said he came to Washington on Jan. 6 with no intention of rioting. But he got caught up in the mob of angry supporters of then-President Trump as they surged into the Capitol, breaking through police barriers and smashing through doors. It wasn’t his fault, he said, that he ended up inside the building with a yellow “Don’t Tread on Me” flag around his neck as lawmakers ran for their lives, the AP reports. Grider, 39, is among at least a dozen Capitol riot defendants identified by the Associated Press who have claimed their presence in the building was a result of being caught up in the hysteria of the crowd or that they were pushed inside by sheer force. Judges typically don’t let defendants assert at trial that outside influences made them act as they did, but there’s some precedent for a version of the argument succeeding at trial.