I dont think it is meant as an absolvement of his actions but rather a sensible explanation how certain people cooperated with the crowd without obvious benefit.
That still doesn't hold water. A closer parallel would be breaking into the church with a group of armed people with the intention of disrupting the proceedings.
Standing up for the wrong hymn doesn't necessitate a lawyer-approved 'statement' to the press.
Yeah I mean the key difference is if you get caught up in the actions of a mob of armed insurrectionists, that means you were in a crowd of armed insurrectionists in the first place.
Standing up for the wrong hymn doesn't necessitate a lawyer-approved 'statement' to the press.