Washington The public conversation surrounding the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and the cases against Donald Trump supporters who were prosecuted for crimes they committed in support of the former and future president has been skewed, according to a federal judge appointed to the bench by former President Ronald Reagan on Friday.
Although the events of January 6 may be a “distant, hazy memory” for many Americans, U.S. District Court Royce Lamberth stated on Friday that many of the victims of the attack will never forget it and that justice, truth, and law and order are fundamental tenets of the legal system. The judges who decided the cases, Lamberth added, “know how perilously close we came to letting the peaceful transfer of power, that great cornerstone of the American republican experiment and perhaps our foremost contribution to posterity, slip away from us.”
During the sentencing of a man who ran for a congressional seat previously held by former Rep. George Santos, Lamberth, who had earlier stated that the “preposterous” claims Republican politicians were making about the Capitol attack “could presage further danger to our country,” made his remarks.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the felony count of obstruction of an official action during the summer, Philip Grillo submitted a motion for acquittal on the count, which the government did not contest. Grillo was therefore given a one-year prison term on the remaining misdemeanor counts on Friday.
Do you comprehend that we f—ing did it…? According to the Justice Department, Grillo recorded himself at the Capitol and stated, “We stormed the Capitol.” We shut it down! We succeeded!
Grillo argued to postpone his sentencing because he thought Trump may pardon some of the Jan. 6 rioters, but Lamberth rejected this reasoning and sentenced Grillo to 12 months in prison. Instead of allowing Grillo to turn himself in, he ordered that he be stepped back or put into arrest right away.
At the courtroom galley, one of Grillo’s followers said, “Trump is going to pardon you.” Phil, Donald has you covered.
In an effort to mock both their competitors and reporters, the Bronx man and another Grillo friend and fan who is also active in politics used the names of two of their rivals to pretend to be someone else. However, NBC News was able to identify them.
As the U.S. Marshals took him into jail, Grillo shouted, “Trump is going to pardon me,” taking off his belt.
Prior to Grillo’s sentencing, Lambert stated that his role was “to facilitate the search for truth, interpret the law, apply it to the facts, and dispense justice as the law demands.”
The majority of Capitol riot cases had “overwhelmingly strong” evidence, according to Lamberth, and it was “gravely disappointing that so many jurors had to be wrenched away from their daily lives to hear from rioters who would rather spout off mostly bogus defenses than take accountability for their actions.”
Lamberth claimed that although everyone was “aware that the President-elect has publicly contemplated pardoning people who participated in the Capitol Riots at various points throughout his campaign,” he had “nothing to say about that decision.”
He did, however, make an effort to dispel some of the numerous lies that have tainted the public conversation on the inquiry.
According to Lamberth, the fundamental premise of our legal system is that justice, truth, and law and order are ideals that are extremely important and deserving of being upheld, even at tremendous cost. Regardless of the political climate, this case and others like it demonstrate that our legal system is always effective. Sending such message is worthwhile.
“I can state with confidence that no one has been charged with protected First Amendment behavior after reading dozens of indictments pertaining to January 6. There are no hostages being detained. No one has ever been imprisoned for their conscience. Every rioter is in their current predicament solely as a result of breaking the law, Lamberth stated.
According to Lamberth, Grillo and the other rioters had to be sentenced “without regard to the defendant’s political affiliation or any other attribute, and without consideration of whether our decisions will be popular.”
“That is what is means to have an independent judiciary, that is what it means to have law and order,” he stated. “This court is responsible for holding Mr. Grillo accountable after a jury of his peers determined that he violated the law by taking part in the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021. That is what I shall do today, as required by my oath of office and my loyalty to the US Constitution.”
According to the Department of Justice, as of Nov. 6, 1,561 people had been charged federally with crimes related to the Jan. 6 incident. For a Proud Boys leader found guilty of seditious conspiracy, over 1,100 people have been found guilty, and over 600 have received sentences that range from a few days in jail to 22 years in federal prison. During the prosecution of a former police officer accused of illegally giving Tarrio information in the days prior to the attack, that leader, Enrique Tarrio, testified this week elsewhere in the courthouse.
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