Did this professor suggest that Jan. 6 'insurrection' participants be dismembered? Read her argument about thumbs.

A federal jury recently convicted Guy Wesley Reffitt on five counts, including obstructing Congress’s certification of the 2020 presidential election, over his involvement in the January 6, 2021, “insurrection.” For that count alone, Reffitt faces up to twenty years behind bars.

Hours before the conviction, the Justice Department arrested another pro-Trump protestor and former Proud Boys leader, Enrique Tarrio.

More than 750 people who protested the results of the 2020 election in wake of voter fraud allegations have been charged with crimes, with over 200 already pleading guilty. Charges range from trespassing to conspiracy.

What is the just punishment for those Jan. 6 participants that are found guilty? One California professor recently suggested that dismemberment may be the answer, or at least should be a guide. 

In an opinion piece titled “Let’s Respond Like Romans to the Jan. 6 Attack on the Capitol,” University of California, Riverside, history professor Michele Salzman compared the Jan. 6 insurrection to a fifth-century sack of ancient Rome and urged lawmakers to look to the Roman response: the removal of the thumb and forefinger. 

[RELATED: Conservative students nationwide denounce Capitol Hill attack]

In the January 2022 essay, Salzman writes, “Our leaders would do well to reflect on these Roman exemplars,” noting that “politicians must publicly acknowledge their responsibility for the attack, including spreading the ‘Big Lie’ about the election.”

Salzman clarifies that while physical dismemberment may not be necessary, “If they cannot acknowledge their guilt and accept the consequences and take steps to repair the damage… they should be forced from the capital.”

“Only then can our representatives begin to rebuild the civility and public trust that once made the Congress a respected institution, and the Capitol a hallowed place,” she contends. “The Romans did it, and their Senate lived on for another 200 years after the attack of 410. We should be so fortunate,” she concluded.

[RELATED: Student leaders use Capitol riot to cancel ‘Crusader’ mascot]

Salzman’s research “focuses on the religious and social history of Late Antiquity,” according to the scholar’s website. 

On Jan. 13, the history professor participated in a written Q&A for UC Riverside News in which she argued that “divisions” cannot be healed and “peace” cannot be kept until Republican lawmakers involved acknowledge their responsibility in the events that transpired on Jan. 6.

 “These are the fingers that politicians used for gesturing when giving speeches,” Salzman commented on the thumb and forefinger. “With their removal, Honorius silenced his opposition.”

Campus Reform reached out to Michele Salzman and UC Riverside for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.

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