Jan 6 rioters still going through the system

Attempted coup

BTW, in case you haven't been seeing it, people are still being arrested and sentenced for their attempt to overthrow the government on January 6.  Here's a couple...

Pride goeth before a fall

Also, they're counting on a presidential pardon in 2025.

Judge Kelly lowballs DOJ and guidelines on sentencing (yet again)

Enrique Tarrio, the primary leader of the Proud Boys nationally along with Joe Biggs, was sentenced in federal court today by Judge Timothy Kelly to 22 years in prison. He was previously convicted at trial on all counts, including seditious conspiracy. His sentencing guidelines recommendation after enhancements was 27-33 years. The government asked for 33 years and the defense asked for 15.

Judge Kelly was appointed by Donald Trump in 2017.

In addition to Tarrio's direct involvement in the planning for J6, another key piece of evidence that led to his conspiracy charge was a 9-page document that he had in his possession on December 30, 2020, that was broken into 5 parts titled: Infiltrate, Execution, Distract, Occupy, and Sit-In. It also discussed recruiting 50 people for the mission leading up to J6. The document was known as the "Patriot Plan," and included storming and occupying multiple government buildings until their demands were met.

[...]

Tarrio was also mysteriously in the White House on December 14, 2020. When asked what he was doing there, he said he was there for a tour to see the Christmas decorations.

[...]

Another thing that helped convict Tarrio of seditious conspiracy was the parking garage footage of him meeting with Oathkeepers leader Stewart Rhodes on the eve on J6. This showed that Tarrio was directly involved in the planning and was simultaneously helping to coordinate with other groups like the Oathkeepers.

[...]

The main point of emphasis in seeking leniency at his sentencing was the fact that he wasn't actually in DC on J6, and claimed he had no communication with other Proud Boys who were there and he was only a "keyboard ninja."

  Meidas Touch

Part of a conspiracy. Doesn't matter if you were there or not.

In arguing for the 33 year sentence, prosecutors said Tarrio "demonized his perceived adversaries. He glorified the use of force against them. He compared himself to Joseph Goebbels in the use of these techniques." The prosecutor also argued that Tarrio showed no remorse after J6, selling t-shirts that said, 'Enrique Tarrio Did Nothing Wrong' and gave an interview while his jury was deliberating where he said "the Proud Boys did nothing wrong" on J6.

The government also argued that Tarrio should receive a harsher sentence than Joe Biggs because Biggs had previously served his country in the military, while Tarrio had no record of public service.

[...]

Tarrio said that many of the Proud Boys will no longer speak with him after they learned he had previously served as an informant for the police. He also said that he didn't go to try and overturn the results of the election, he was just there to support Trump.

Then, perhaps taking a shot at co-defendant Joe Biggs who yelled 'Trump Won!' leaving the courtroom, Tarrio said, "I want nothing to do with politics anymore. When I walk out this door, I won't be saying anything." He concluded his statement by pleading with the judge, "Do not take my 40s away from me." (Tarrio is 39)

In pronouncing sentence, Trump-appointed Judge Kelly said, "That day broke our previously unbroken tradition of the peaceful transfer of power, which is truly among the most precious things that we had as Americans. That previously unbroken string is now broken, and it's going to take time and effort to fix it."

[...]

Kelly went on to say that Tarrio's social media posts in the weeks and months after J6 showed he had no real remorse.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 09:20 am:

January 6 seditious conspiracy defendants sentenced today

Yes, WTH?

UPDATE 09/01/2023:

UPDATE 09/01/2023:

Still, like the others, much lower than the DOJ asked for (27 years).

BOLO

Fugitive from justice.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 04:08 pm:

Oath Keeper sentences too lenient?

The DOJ filed notice to appeal the seditious conspiracy sentences to be more in line with what prosecutors asked for.  Allison Gill has an analysis of that decision here.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Agitators gonna agitate

[Florida music instructor Audrey Southard-Rumsey, 54,] was accused of being an agitator who was in front of the [January 6] mob as it swelled near the House Speaker's Lobby, as members of Congress were hiding inside. She was also accused of screaming vulgar and misogynistic threats about Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and was charged with pushing police, and at one point, using a flagpole to push one officer.

  CBS

Everybody's ideal music teacher.

During a dramatic 15-minute statement at her sentencing hearing, Southard-Rumsey pushed aside papers that included a set of prepared remarks. She instead blistered prosecutors, calling them "liars," then accused a Capitol Police officer whom she'd allegedly confronted on Jan. 6 of being "terrified."

[...]

She accused Antifa of filming her amid the Capitol riot and said, "My whole dream of my life has been taken, because people have different politics than mine."

Southard-Rumsey also said, "I have grievances, since they don't listen to us at the polling place. They don't listen to us little people in the regular world." She said, "I'm ashamed of this country."

I expect she was one who railed at Michelle Obama for suggesting a similar sentiment back in the day.

The uniquely strident and unapologetic remarks presented a sharp contrast with dozens of the hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants who have spoken and sought leniency at sentencing.

After Southard-Rumsey's defense attorney approached the podium to urge her to wrap up her remarks, she concluded by saying, "It's not fair."

[...]

The defense asserted she would not protest again in the future.

During her statement to the judge, Southard-Rumsey said, "I won't protest because I'll be in prison. Why protest? You guys don't listen."

[...]

The government's criminal complaint included a number of photos of her in the Capitol and also alleged she was captured on video yelling, "Tell Pelosi we are coming for that b****."

Southard-Rumsey was captured on a Twitter feed announcing, "Standing in front of the Capitol Building ready to take it," the complaint also said.

[...]

[Judge] Mehta said Southard-Rumsey's presence on the frontlines of the attack as members of Congress hid on the ground inside the House Chamber helped warrant a rarely invoked terrorism enhancement in her case. Mehta said, "You terrorized members of Congress, including those who believe the things you do."

The judge criticized her and other Jan. 6 defendants for "cloaking themselves in patriotism."

He cited some of the vulgar language attributed to Southard-Rumsey from Jan. 6, including the profane and threatening language she had directed at former House Speaker Pelosi.

[...]

According to a Justice Department report, approximately 560 of the more than 1,000 defendants of the U.S. Capitol siege have been sentenced. Approximately 335 have received prison terms.

[...]

Southard-Rumsey will be permitted to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons in the coming months to serve [a] six-year prison sentence.

[...]

Departing court, Southard-Rumsey declined requests for comment. Turning to reporters, she said, "You all are f******* liars. You should be ashamed of yourself. You're why we're in this mess."

Scott MacFarlane live tweeted the sentencing hearing.   Southard-Rumsey's attorney claimed she "had a very big mouth,"  buy wasn't attempting a coup. With friends like these...

MacFarlane tweets tidbits of the defendant's tirade, including...

Southard meanders through a series of points about hating strong smells, loving the paintings inside the Capitol… and being a particularly “fast walker” 

Judge Amit Mehta at one point ordered her to "stop turning toward — and pointing at — others in courtroom."  And a US Marshal moved up to stand right behind her while she spoke, apparently sensing a possibility of needing to restrain her.  Her attorney also attempted to "calm or redirect" (McFarlane's words) his client, and finally told her to wrap it up.  He also must have sensed a need. Perhaps to keep her from getting herself more time.

Prosecutors asked that she be jailed immediately, but the judge allowed her to self-surrender under "release conditions" which aren't enumerated.

Related:  The government is asking for reconsideration of sentences in the Oath Keepers cases - to have them increased.  

"It's very unusual for DOJ to appeal, but these are unusual cases and unusual times," said the Justice Department official, who requested anonymity to speak about the cases. "The key here is that the judge departed from DOJ's sentencing recommendations on [eight] defendants. There probably wouldn't be an appeal if it was just one."

[...]

US District Judge Amit Mehta sentenced Rhodes to 18 years behind bars for his role in the insurrection — the most severe sentence to date for any of the more than 1,000 people who have been charged with crimes connected to the attack on the Capitol.

In Rhodes' case, prosecutors wanted a sentence of 25 years in prison.

The other defendants were also given shorter prison sentences than what the DOJ had requested.

  Business Insider

That IS the big question

And I'm not feeling very optimistic.

I think it's quite possible Roger Stone and Rudy Giuliani, and maybe Mark Meadows, will spend a little time locked up.  But I have a feeling Trump will skate.  Straight to Hell, where we're all being dragged by the GOP and SCOTUS.

That's the sentence for Oath Keeper Stewart Rhodes.

UPDATE 02:34 pm:

Meanwhile, insurrectionist trials and sentences continue

Pathetic insurrectionist

He doesn't even know where he is.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:   And, they're still being hunted down and arrested.

Also, Jan 6 report coming in a couple of days:

Jesus wept

Maybe it will be a blessing if Twitter goes down.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Leniency in Jan 6 sentence

I understand the leniency and approve of it for people with mental impairments, but may I ask what mob influenced him to arrive with a hatchet?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:  On the other hand...

Another heavy Jan 6 sentence

During the mayhem of January 6, Young pushed through the pro-mob to grab the wrist of a Washington, DC, police officer, Michael Fanone, as other rioters assaulted him. At one point, he passed a taser to another rioter, who used the device on Fanone's neck.

[...]

Jackson noted that, in the video of the assault on Fanone, a "Blue Lives Matter" flag swirled overhead.

"It was obscene," she said.

[...]

"The judiciary [...] has to make it clear: It is not patriotism, it is not standing up for America to stand up for one man who knows full well that he lost instead of the Constitution he was trying to subvert."

  Yahoo News quoting Judge Amy Berman Jackson

Young also will serve three years under supervision once released. A hearing will be held later to determine his restitution. He also was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service.

“You are one of the most serious Jan. 6 offenders in my caseload and you were personally involved in and instrumental to one of the most horrific attacks on officers [e]ncased in this building," the judge told Young. “I have seldom in my years on the bench been presented with anything like this.”

[...]

[Young] went to the Capitol with his 16-year-old son and video played by federal prosecutors indicated Young took part during fighting on the Capitol’s lower west terrace, including at one point throwing a heavy speaker that hit another rioter, drawing blood. He used a strobe light to blind fighting officers and at one point gave it to his son, allowing him to directly participate in the fighting, a point the judge used to illustrate her disgust at his actions that day.

  Madison.com

UPDATE:

U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson said former President Donald Trump had turned his lies about the election into a litmus test for Republican candidates and that “high-ranking members of Congress and state officials” are “so afraid of losing their power” that they won’t contradict him. That fealty, she said, comes even as law enforcement and judges involved in cases related to the former president are facing unprecedented threats of violence.

It’s up to the judiciary, she added, to help draw the line against those dangers.

[...]

“Some prominent figures in the Republican Party … are cagily predicting or even outright calling for violence in the streets if one of the multiple investigations doesn’t go his way,” Jackson said.

[...]

“The judiciary … has to make it clear: It is not patriotism, it is not standing up for America to stand up for one man — who knows full well that he lost — instead of the Constitution he was trying to subvert,” said Jackson.

[...]

“You were not prosecuted for being a Trump supporter. You were not arrested or charged and you will not be sentenced for exercising your first amendment rights,” she said to Young. “You are not a political prisoner … You were trying to stop the singular thing that makes America America, the peaceful transfer of power. That’s what ‘Stop the Steal’ meant.”

  Politico

J6 juries and judges are not playing around

New longest sentence for insurrection on January 6, 2021

A Texas man convicted of storming the U.S. Capitol with a holstered handgun, helmet and body armor was sentenced Monday to more than seven years in prison, the longest sentence imposed so far among hundreds of Capitol riot cases.

Prosecutors said Guy Reffitt told fellow members of the Texas Three Percenters militia group that he planned to drag House Speaker Nancy Pelosi out of the Capitol building by her ankles, “with her head hitting every step on the way down,” according to a court filing.

  The Hill

It was just locker room talk.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

2nd 5-year sentence for Capitol riot

“He did so with no intent to do anything but add his voice to the vocal protests over the injustice he perceived had happened in the election,” the lawyer added. “Unfortunately, he got caught up in the riotous atmosphere of the crowd and erroneously perceived the police as standing in the way of the crowd’s desire to protest the election results.”

  alJazeera

And, as you do when you "get caught up":

The prison sentences for Ponder and Palmer may not be the lengthiest for much longer. Prosecutors are seeking a 15-year prison sentence for Guy Reffitt, a Texas man who was convicted of storming the Capitol with a holstered handgun. US District Judge Dabney Friedrich is scheduled to sentence Reffitt on Monday.

Higher sentences for insurrectionists who assaulted police

A judge in the United States has imposed a 44-month prison sentence on a man who pleaded guilty to a felony charge after throwing objects at police during last year’s January 6 attack on the US Capitol and boasting about his actions on social media.

The defendant, Nicholas Languerand, has been jailed since his arrest in April 2021 in the US state of South Carolina and will receive credit for time served.

Languerand pleaded guilty in November to a single charge of assaulting law enforcement with a dangerous weapon. Authorities said he hurled objects, including an orange traffic barrier, at police and took an officer’s riot shield on January 6, 2021. He was 26 at the time he entered the guilty plea.

Languerand bragged about the attack on social media, vowing that “next time we come back with rifles”.

[...]

Prosecutors had recommended a 51-month sentence, but US District Judge John Bates in Washington said on Wednesday that a “modest reduction” was warranted in light of Languerand’s personal circumstances, including what the judge described as an “extremely difficult and chaotic upbringing”.

When Languerand was a child, his father intentionally set fire to a trailer that he and his mother were living in, nearly killing them, Languerand’s grandfather told the judge during the sentencing hearing.

  alJazeera

January 6 coup sentences

Judges across the US have been handing down stiff sentences and hard words in recent weeks for extremist supporters of Donald Trump who took part in the 6 January insurrection at the US Capitol.

  Guardian

As they should.

Since the riots, federal prosecutors have brought cases against 727 individuals over their involvement in the deadly riots.

[...]

The longest sentence so far was handed down to a Florida man who threw a wooden plank and fire extinguisher at police officers during the riots. On 17 December, Judge Tanya Chutkan sentenced Robert Palmer to 63 months of jail time.

[...]

On Tuesday, a Washington state man was sentenced to 46 months of prison time for assaulting police officers with a speaker and a metal baton during the riots. According to court documents, Devlyn Thompson helped move police shields up against a line of rioters in a tunnel, as well as hit police officers.

[...]

Thompson is the second rioter, after Palmer, to be sentenced for the felony of assaulting a police officer with a dangerous weapon. More than 140 other rioters face the same charge.
[...]

[A] federal judge sentenced Jacob Chansley, the US Capitol rioter nicknamed the “QAnon shaman” for his horned headdress, to 41 months in prison last month

[...]

[US District Judge Royce] Lamberth also sentenced an 81-year-old Army veteran on the same day to three years of probation for illegally breaching the Capitol.

[...]

On Tuesday, a Pennsylvania man was also sentenced over his involvement in the riots after his wife accidentally implicated him in a Facebook status. US District Judge James Boasberg sentenced Gary Edwards to one year of probation, 200 hours of community service, as well as a $2,500 fine and $500 in damage fees.

[...]

Gary Wickersham, one of the oldest of more than 700 rioters facing charges, was sentenced to 90 days of home detention, and will also have to pay a $2,000 fine and $500 for building damage.

Not enough. They were attempting to overthrow the government, FFS. They should all get some jail time.

During his hearing, Wickersham asked for “mercy” from Lamberth and explained that he went to the Capitol because “you get bored” sitting at home.

I repeat, FFS.  Maybe he'd be less bored in prison.

On 22 November, US District Judge Royce Lamberth sentenced Capitol rioter Frank Scavo to 60 days in prison, one of the strictest sentences handed down to a misdemeanor defendant and more than four times the prosecutor’s recommendation of two weeks.

Scavo, a Trump supporter from Pennsylvania and former school board official, was found guilty of chartering buses to transport approximately 200 residents from Pennsylvania to the Capitol on 6 January.

Yes.

I hope Judge Chutkan has bodyguards

A Florida man was sentenced Friday to just over five years in prison for assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

[...]

Robert Palmer, 54, of Tampa, was charged with repeatedly assaulting police officers on the Capitol's Lower West Terrace.

Prosecutors said he threw a wooden plank the police, then picked up a fire extinguisher and sprayed its contents at a line of officers, throwing the canister at them after it was empty.

A few minutes later, prosecutors said, he picked up the fire extinguisher and threw it at them a second time and assaulted another group of officers with a metal pole, throwing it like a spear. He stopped the attack when an officer shot him in the abdomen with a rubber bullet.

[...]

The sentence, of 63 months, was the longest one yet imposed among the more than 150 defendants who have pleaded guilty to taking part in the siege.

[...]

Those officers were so brave standing there, just taking all the stuff that people were giving them, all the taunts, all the jeers and everything," Palmer told the judge before he was sentenced.

"I am so ashamed I was part of that. Very, very ashamed," he said.

[...]

But prosecutors said he showed a lack of remorse in a misleading social media posting that solicited support after he pleaded guilty.

The posting said he acted in self-defense — that he threw fire extinguisher only after he was shot with the non-lethal round. Palmer admitted during Friday's hearing that his claim of self-defense was false.

[...]

"It has to be made clear that trying to violently overthrow the government, trying to stop the peaceful transition of power, and assaulting law enforcement officers in that effort is going to be met with absolutely certain punishment," said U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan.

[...]

The longest sentence imposed previously in a Capitol riot case was 41 months, given separately to two defendants. One was Jacob Chansley, known as the QAnon shaman, who pleaded guilty to obstructing the presidential vote count. The other was Scott Fairlamb, who pleaded guilty to hitting a police officer's face shield. Both are pursuing appeals.

  NBC

So will this guy, no doubt.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.