Barr asks states to charge protesters with attempts to overthrow the government

The highly unusual suggestion to charge people with insurrection against lawful authority alarmed some on the call, which included U.S. attorneys around the country, said the people, who described Mr. Barr’s comments on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

The attorney general has also asked prosecutors in the Justice Department’s civil rights division to explore whether they could bring criminal charges against Mayor Jenny Durkan of Seattle for allowing some residents to establish a police-free protest zone near the city’s downtown for weeks this summer, according to two people briefed on those discussions…

Mr. Barr’s actions have thrust the Justice Department into the political fray at a time when Democrats and former law enforcement officials have expressed fears that he is politicizing the department, particularly by intervening in legal matters in ways that benefit Mr. Trump or his circle of friends and advisers.

The New York Times

William Barr and Donald Trump want people to be charged with sedition so that they can go to the public and say “listen… they were trying to overthrow the U.S.!” This is another feat tactic. Barr knows this is not a charge that is going to stick, but if they can get a couple of headlines out there… suddenly, that rings a little differently than “rioters break a couple more windows.”

Farron Cousins, Free Speech TV