government, but do so by threat of violence and force perpetrated against the sitting US government at the time, a government conducting an essential government function to certify a free and fair election, a function that was being led by a person they voted for en masse, before erecting a gallows and clamoring for his hanging. That's treasonous and stupid. Perhaps you could argue that their buffonery fails to meet the level of nefarious intent and is therefore not treasonous. I might be willing to get on board with that, but chalking the entire incident up to stupidity diminishes the import and likely ensures a second occurence by a better organized, less blindly enthusiastic group. There has to be a middle ground between "Hang 'em all!" and "Hell, he don't know no better." Think everyone of them should be excoriated by a sitting judge for their actions and made to understand the import of their actions. It's not enough for them to realize they're stupid and were misled. They have to understand why what they did is such a massive problem for American democracy.