WASHINGTON (AP) — Over the past four years, federal judges in Washington have punished hundreds of rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol in an unprecedented attack on the nation’s democracy. With the next presidential election just around the corner, some judges are concerned that political violence could flare up again.
Before sentencing the rioters to prison recently, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said he prayed that the American people would accept the results of next month’s election. But the veteran judge expressed concern that Donald Trump and his supporters are promoting the same types of conspiracy theories that fueled the Jan. 6, 2021, mob violence.
“That loser is saying the same thing he’s been saying before,” Walton said earlier this month, without mentioning the Republican presidential nominee by name. “He’s raking up troops again, so if he doesn’t get what he wants, it’s not inconceivable that we’ll go through the same situation again. And who knows? It will get even worse. There is a possibility.”
Mr. Walton, a candidate for President George W. Bush, 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 voting day approaches, judges have frequently emphasized the need to send a message beyond the courtroom that political violence is unacceptable.
“When you think about what happens if someone on either side is not satisfied with the election results,” Judge Gia Cobb, a nominee of President Joe Biden, said during the sentencing hearing for four Capitol rioters last month. It’s scary.”
Judge Rudolph Contreras, sentencing Jeffrey Sabol, a Colorado man who helped recruit other rioters into the mob, lamented the possibility of more politically motivated violence. Sabol later told FBI agents that “a call to action was announced” and that he “answered the call because I was a patriotic fighter.”
“It doesn’t take much imagination to imagine a similar summons coming in the coming months,” said Contreras, a Barack Obama presidential candidate. I will.” Parade before Sabol was sentenced to more than five years in prison.
President Trump’s distortions about the January 6 attack are fundamental to his efforts to retake the White House. The former president criticized the crimes of his supporters who broke windows, assaulted police officers and forced lawmakers to flee as they met to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. denied responsibility.
President Trump has vowed to pardon the rioters, who he has called “patriots” and “hostages,” if he wins in November. He then said he would only accept the results of the next election if it was “free and fair,” raising doubts reminiscent of President Trump. Baseless claims in 2020.
Judges have used their courtroom platforms to downplay the violence of January 6 and repeatedly denounce efforts to turn rioters into political prisoners. And some have expressed concern about what such rhetoric means for the future of the country and its democracy.
“Our country is going through some really tough times, and I hope we can get through this,” Walton said earlier this month in sentencing a Tennessee nurse who used medical scissors to break down a glass door at the Capitol. “I’m doing it,” he said.
“I have a young daughter, I have young grandchildren, and I want America to be there for them and be as good to them as they have been to me,” he added. I don’t know if we can survive with the mentality we had that day. ”
More than 1,500 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Jan. 6 siege that disrupted the first peaceful transfer of presidential power in the nation’s history. More than 1,000 rioters were convicted and sentenced. Approximately 650 of them received prison sentences ranging from a few days to 22 years.
Justice Department prosecutors have argued in a number of cases that prison terms are necessary to deter politically motivated violence by convicted Capitol rioters.
“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 January 6 looms eerily close,” prosecutors wrote in court. We have repeatedly warned in our submissions to
Prosecutors have argued that the defendant, who has shown little or no remorse for his actions on January 6, could break the law again. Some members of the mob are proud of their crimes.
The first rioter to enter the Capitol texted his mother, saying, “I’ll be there again if I get a chance.” A Washington state man who stormed the Capitol with members of the Proud Boys extremist group told a judge: “Give me 100 years and I’ll do it all over again.” A Kentucky nurse who took part in the riot told a television interviewer, “I’ll do the same thing tomorrow.”
A Colorado woman known to her social media followers as “Prayer Grandma of J6” avoided prison after a magistrate judge found her guilty of disorderly conduct and trespassing on Capitol grounds in August. did. Rebecca Labrenz told the judge that it was God, not Trump, who led her to Washington on January 6th.
“And she almost promised to do it all over again,” said prosecutor Terrence Parker.
Prosecutors had asked for a 10-month prison sentence. After being found guilty at trial in April, Mr. Lavrenz defended the mob, spread misinformation, undermined trust in the court, and believed that January 6 was “a good day for this country.” Parker said they conducted a “media blitz” to increase their visibility within the community they live in. Said.
Judge Zia Faruqi sentenced Mr. Lavrenz to six months of home confinement and fined him $103,000, stressing the need to “cut back” before the next election.
“Outside influences, people who are tearing our country apart, they are not going to help you,” Faruqui told her.
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Associated Press writer Alana Durkin Richer contributed to this report.
