Over the years, I’ve been pretty consistent in not paying much attention to backbench members of the House of Representatives. The truth is, a House member who has no seniority, no committee gavel and no position in leadership just isn’t very worthy of attention. I don’t get excited by Democratic bomb-throwers and I not overly exercised about Republican attention-seekers either. I’m usually suspicious that they’re frauds, like Anthony Weiner and Alan Grayson on the Democratic side and too many to number on the Republican side.

Their extremism is sometimes useful, but just as often it does a better job of firing up the opponents. Certainly, it’s often helpful to take outrageous comments and behavior from these backbenchers and hang them live an anvil around the necks of more mainstream members of their party.

The January 6 insurrection changed my calculation a bit. It showed what can happen when extremism goes unchecked. Of course, Republican backbenchers could never have inspired a violent coup attempt on their own. They needed the president to lead the way. But, as Kyle Cheney reports for Politico, normally insignificant House members did play an important role.

Ali Alexander, who founded the pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” movement and attended the rally that preceded the Capitol attack, told congressional investigators that he recalls “a few phone conversations” with Rep. Paul Gosar and a text exchange with Rep. Mo Brooks about his efforts in the run-up to Jan. 6, his lawyers confirmed in a late Friday court filing.

Alexander also told the Jan. 6 House select committee that he spoke to Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) in person “and never by phone, to the best of his recollection,” his lawyers say…

Per Alexander’s attorneys Jonathon Moseley and Paul Kamenar, members of Congress may have been on an organizing call with him in early January. Several were invited but he did not take attendance, the lawyers said. They also said Alexander “testified that he had phone conversations with Rep. Brooks’ staff about a ‘Dear Colleague’ letter and how his activists could be helpful.”

Alexander said in a since-deleted video that he worked with Gosar, Biggs and Brooks to attempt to use Congress’ Jan. 6 session certifying Biden’s victory as a chance to pressure lawmakers to overturn the electoral results.

“We four schemed up to put maximum pressure on Congress while they were voting,” Alexander said in the video.

The phrase “overturn the electoral results” sounds almost innocuous. This was plotting for a coup–an end to our democratic, representative system of government. The key thing is that their object was illegitimate and criminal. In that sense, it almost doesn’t matter what their plan was or whether they envisioned a violent storming of the Capitol. If they had succeeded, irrespective of how they succeeded, it would have been a coup.

As it happened, there was a storming of the Capitol, involving several deaths and dozens of injuries, massive property damage, and an assault on the entire Congress and its staffers and security forces. Yet, these backbenchers are still serving in Congress.

That has to change.