“Florida is emerging as a cradle of the insurrection as the fallout from the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol building paints a clearer picture of those involved. Florida is tied with Texas for the most individuals facing charges stemming from Jan. 6, with 47 arrests in each state out of the 484 total nationwide, according to a database maintained by USA Today.”

“And Florida leads all states in arrests of individuals associated with two far right groups – the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys – that were active in breaching the Capitol. More than 40% of the Oath Keepers arrested on charges stemming from Jan. 6 are from Florida, and about a quarter of the Proud Boys. Floridians arrested include leaders from both groups who are accused of helping to plan the insurrection, which attempted to overturn the 2020 election results that delivered the presidency to Joe Biden over Donald Trump. Florida’s large number of arrests related to Jan. 6 raises concerns about the prevalence of extremist groups and views in the state. Floridians are accused of numerous acts of violence at the Capitol, with at least nine facing charges that include assaulting a police officer” the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports.

At first glance you might say “Well no shit, these are the two most populated red states, of course they’d have the most rioters”, but also keep in mind, at their closest points within state borders to the US Capitol, the way the crow flies, Texas and Florida are 1,017 miles and 622 miles away, respectively. Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, etc are all within a half-day at most of driving distance range, so you’d think any one of those would be number one, population sizes aside. Maybe this is explained by a sunk-cost mentality like “Well I fucking spent $2,000 for travel and accommodations so you’re goddamned right I’m going to murder Mike Pence and Nancy Pelosi”. In any event, big congrats to Florida and Texas.