Crime
More than 1,000 rioters were convicted and sentenced. Around 650 of them were sentenced to prison terms ranging from a few days to 22 years.
People attack the U.S. Capitol in Washington, January 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
WASHINGTON — Over the past four years, judges at the federal courthouse in Washington have punished hundreds of rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol, part of an unprecedented attack on the nation’s democracy. As the next presidential election approaches, some of these judges fear a new explosion of political violence.
Before recently sentencing a rioter to prison, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said he prayed that Americans would accept the outcome of next month’s election. But the veteran judge expressed concern that Donald Trump and his allies are spreading the same kinds of conspiracy theories that fueled the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.
“This sore loser is saying the same things as before,” Walton said earlier this month without mentioning the Republican presidential candidate’s name. “He’s still pissing off the troops, so if he doesn’t get what he wants, it’s not inconceivable that we could experience the same situation again. And who knows? It could be worse.
Walton, President George W. Bush’s nominee, is not alone. Other justices said the political climate was ripe for another attack like the one that injured more than 100 police officers at the Capitol. As Election Day approaches, judges frequently emphasize the need to send the message beyond their courtrooms that political violence cannot be tolerated.
“It scares me to think what will happen if someone on one side or the other is unhappy with the results of the election,” said Judge Jia Cobb, President Joe Biden’s nominee , during a sentencing hearing last month for four Capitol rioters.
Judge Rudolph Contreras lamented the risk of more politically motivated violence in sentencing a Colorado man, Jeffrey Sabol, who helped other rioters drag a police officer into the crowd. Sabol later told FBI agents that a “call to fight had gone out” and that he had “answered the call because he was a patriotic warrior.”
“It doesn’t take much imagination to imagine a similar appeal being made in the coming months, and the court would be concerned that Mr. Sabol would respond to that appeal in the same way,” said Contreras, President Barack’s nominee. Obama. March before sentencing Sabol to more than five years in prison.
Trump’s distortion of the January 6 attack was the cornerstone of his bid to win back the White House. The former president has denied responsibility for the crimes of his supporters who smashed windows, assaulted police officers and sent lawmakers into hiding as they gathered to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.
Trump has pledged to pardon the rioters, whom he calls “patriots” and “hostages,” if he wins in November. And he said he would only accept the results of the next election if they were “free and fair,” casting doubts reminiscent of his baseless 2020 claims.
The judges have repeatedly used their platform to denounce efforts to minimize the violence of January 6 and to characterize the rioters as political prisoners. And some have expressed concerns about the consequences of such rhetoric for the future of the country and its democracy.
“We’re going through a really tough time in our country and I hope we can survive it,” Walton said this month in condemning a Tennessee nurse who used a pair of medical scissors to break a glass door at the Capitol.
“I have a young daughter, I have a young grandson and I wish America would be there for them and be as good to them as it has been to me,” he said. added. “But I don’t know if we survive with the mentality that prevailed that day.”
More than 1,500 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Jan. 6 siege, which disrupted the peaceful transfer of presidential power for the first time in the nation’s history. More than 1,000 rioters were convicted and sentenced. Around 650 of them were sentenced to prison terms ranging from a few days to 22 years.
Justice Department prosecutors have argued in many cases that prison time is necessary to deter convicted Capitol rioters from engaging in more politically motivated violence.
“As the 2024 presidential election approaches and many loud voices in the media and online continue to sow discord and distrust, the possibility of a repeat of the January 6 election looms ominously,” prosecutors repeatedly warned in their court filings.
Prosecutors say defendants who showed little or no remorse for their actions on Jan. 6 could run afoul of the law again. Some rioters even seem proud of their crimes.
The first rioter to enter the Capitol texted his mother: “I will go back if the opportunity presents itself.” » A Washington state man who stormed the Capitol with other members of the Proud Boys extremist group told a judge, “You can give me 100 years and I’ll do it again.” » A Kentucky nurse who joined the riot told a television interviewer that she would “do it again tomorrow.”
A Colorado woman known to her social media followers as “Praying Grandma J6” avoided prison time in August when a magistrate judge convicted her of disorderly conduct and trespassing. Capitol grounds. Rebecca Lavrenz told the judge that it was God, not Trump, who led her to Washington on January 6.
“And she basically promised to do it all again,” prosecutor Terence Parker said.
Prosecutors had requested 10 months in prison. After her conviction in April, Lavrenz embarked on a “media blitz” to defend the mob, spread misinformation, undermine trust in the courts and boost her celebrity in a community that believes January 6 “was a good day for this country,” Parker said. said.
Magistrate Zia Faruqui sentenced Lavrenz to six months of home confinement and a $103,000 fine, emphasizing the need to “turn down the volume” before the next election.
“These outside influences, these people who are tearing our country apart, are not going to help you,” Faruqui told him.
Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.
