Interesting thought. The outlandish prison time given to jan 6 people sounds as if
- They thought they're taking real shakers and movers of the opposition out. When in reality those are mostly schmucks who went for a walk at the wrong time/place.
- They are scared and want to send a very threatening message. IMO if anything the mistreatment of jan 6 guys just pissed off a lot more people who'll likely be smarter about resistance in the future