I guess what they're trying to say is that if this had been a real insurrection, the bombs, incendiary devices, and guns would have been used, and in volume.

The fact that some were found, and basically none were used (none of the deaths were a result of people being shot by the rioters) indicates the level of seriousness we're dealing with here.

This is not to say that they shouldn't face consequences: they should; what they did is seriously illegal and, more generally, bad and wrong.

But it's terribly important to remember that what happened here was crime, not war.

Insurrection is not war. Insurrection is a violent uprising against a government, which is exactly what happened. The fact that explosive devices were not used, but were present, was likely a matter of luck, not intent. Besides these things are not required for something to be an insurrection. They could have been armed with screwdrivers and hammers and it would still be an insurrection, albeit a less extreme insurrection.