Sedition

[Vrede too]

I think it's a hoot that Dolt .45 and his Trumpettes know that if he wasn't so fat and lazy the coup might have been at least temporarily successful. But nooo, he just had to get in the limo rather than walk to the Capitol. Maybe his bone spurs were flaring up. For all the heat the SS is deservedly taking did the limo driver save democracy?

[GoCubsGo]

I think it's a hoot that Dolt .45 and his Trumpettes know that if he wasn't so fat and lazy the coup might have been at least temporarily successful. But nooo, he just had to get in the limo rather than walk to the Capitol. Maybe his bone spurs were flaring up. For all the heat the SS is deservedly taking did the limo driver save democracy?

Not intentionally.

[Vrede too]

Not intentionally.

No, not intentionally. His aim was likely protection of the POTUS from a chaotic, uncontrollable situation.

[neoplacebo]

I keep hoping he'll just die.

Kind of a given, but I'd be ok with a debilitating stroke too.

One that makes him communicate like this:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX9reO3QnUA

Steve Bannon found guilty of criminal contempt of Congress

... Bannon was found guilty of two counts of criminal contempt — one for refusing to appear for a deposition before the panel and the other for refusing to produce requested documents. Each count carries a minimum potential sentence of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail, as well as a fine of $100 to $1,000.

The jury deliberated for a little over two hours in federal court in Washington, D.C., before returning its verdict. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols set Oct. 21 as the date for Bannon's sentencing....

3 months for sentencing? It might be minimal and maybe the judge won't LOCK HIM UP, but it's still a gratifying headline.

Judge Carl J. Nichols was appointed by TRE45ON, but he did make several anti-Bannon pretrial rulings. Predictions?

Spoiler:

I'll go with 2 months and $2000, but that could be wishful thinking.

I'll go with nine months and the maximum fine on both counts.

[Vrede too]

I'll go with nine months and the maximum fine on both counts.

nine months x 2 or nine months total? Either way, you're our leader.

[neoplacebo]

I'll go with nine months and the maximum fine on both counts.

nine months x 2 or nine months total? Either way, you're our leader.

I will go with nine months on each count. They don't call me the stomping judge for nothing.

[O Really]

They could give him nine months on each count and still let the sentences run concurrently.

[Vrede too]

They could give him nine months on each count and still let the sentences run concurrently.

I think the stomping judge is going for 18 months in prison.

[neoplacebo]

They could give him nine months on each count and still let the sentences run concurrently.

I think the stomping judge is going for 18 months in prison.

I figure he's already gotten away with too much. And I may stipulate that he get no time off for "good behavior" and instead instruct staff to keep a sharp eye out for bad behavior as I may add time for that.

[Vrede too]

I think the stomping judge is going for 18 months in prison.

I figure he's already gotten away with too much. And I may stipulate that he get no time off for "good behavior" and instead instruct staff to keep a sharp eye out for bad behavior as I may add time for that.

An "Asshole Watch" instead of a "Suicide Watch".

[GoCubsGo]

Here we go!

[GoCubsGo]

[billy.pilgrim]

Go Merrick, 513 days on the job and he may have committed a first order of business.

[Vrede too]

Go Merrick, 513 days on the job and he may have committed a first order of business.

Some of the Jan 6 prosecutions are harsh, nttawwt.

Man's 63-month prison term matches longest for Capitol riot

A man who attacked police officers with poles during the riot at the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Tuesday to more than five years in prison, matching the longest term of imprisonment so far among hundreds of Capitol riot prosecutions.

Mark Ponder, a 56-year-old resident of Washington, D.C., said he "got caught up” in the chaos that erupted on Jan. 6, 2021, and “didn't mean for any of this to happen.”

Mark Ponder, one of the very few Black Trumpette Jan 6 rioters:

“I wasn't thinking that day,” Ponder told U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, asking her for mercy before she sentenced him to five years and three months in prison.“I wasn't thinking that day,” Ponder told U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, asking her for mercy before she sentenced him to five years and three months in prison.

U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, an Obama appointee:

That was three months longer than the prison sentence requested by prosecutors. And it's the same sentence that Chutkan gave Robert Palmer, a Florida man who also pleaded guilty to assaulting police at the Capitol.

Robert Palmer, a Florida man :



Addicted to Trump

More than 200 other Capitol riot defendants have been sentenced so far. None received a longer prison sentence than Ponder or Palmer.

Chutkan said Ponder was “leading the charge” against police officers trying to hold off the mob that disrupted Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral victory.

“This is not ‘caught up,’ Mr. Ponder,” she said. “He was intent on attacking and injuring police officers. This was not a protest.”

Chutkan has consistently taken a hard line in punishing Capitol rioters. She has handed down terms of imprisonment to all 13 riot defendants who have come before her, matching or exceeding the Justice Department's sentencing recommendation in every case, according to an Associated Press review of court records.

Prosecutors had recommended a five-year prison sentence for Ponder, who has been jailed since his arrest in March 2021....

Ponder has a substantial criminal record spanning three decades, including a 2008 conviction for bank robbery, according to prosecutors.

More than 840 people have been charged with federal crimes for their conduct at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Over 350 riot defendants have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a jury or a judge after trials.

More than 220 of them have been sentenced, including approximately 100 who received a term of imprisonment. Ponder is the 15th to be sentenced to a prison term exceeding one year.

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.

Guy Reffitt, a Texas man:

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich is scheduled to sentence Reffitt on Monday.

U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich, a Dolt .45 appointee:



Some of the sentences have felt light, but maybe Garland's doing a decent job overall.

[Vrede too]

GoMerrickGo.

Jan. 6 rioter gets 7 years, longest prison sentence yet by far

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.

Mr. Reffitt’s prison sentence – seven years and three months – is two years more than the previous longest prison sentence for a Capitol riot defendant. But it’s less than half the length of the 15-year prison term requested by a federal prosecutor, who called Mr. Reffitt a domestic terrorist and said he wanted to physically remove and replace members of Congress.

Mr. Reffitt was the first person to go on trial for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, in which supporters of then-President Donald Trump halted the joint session of Congress for certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory.

Some holdouts will now be scrambling to cut deals that will be less favorable to them than they would have been last week.

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, who presided over Mr. Reffitt’s jury trial, also sentenced him to three years of supervised release after his prison term and ordered him to pay $2,000 in restitution.

Sentencing guidelines calculated by the judge called for a term of imprisonment ranging from seven years and three months to nine years.

Judge Friedrich rejected prosecutors’ contention that an “upward departure for terrorism” – leading to a far longer sentence – was warranted in Mr. Reffitt’s case. It was the first time that prosecutors have requested that sentencing enhancement for a Jan. 6 case.

Good on Merrick for trying.

“He wanted to physically and literally remove Congress,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler told the judge. “We do believe that he is a domestic terrorist.”

Judge Friedrich, however, questioned why Mr. Reffitt would merit the terrorism enhancement when many other rioters engaged in violence and made similarly disturbing threats.

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich is a TRE45ON appointee.

I don't hold reducing prosecution's request against her. 7 years is a long time.

The longest sentence before Mr. Reffitt’s was five years and three months, for two men who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers at the Capitol.

Mr. Reffitt, who already has been jailed for approximately 19 months, initially balked at speaking to the judge during Monday’s hearing. But he changed his mind during a lunch break and offered an expletive-laden apology to police officers, lawmakers, and congressional staffers who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Calling himself “an idiot,” Mr. Reffitt struggled to explain why he stormed the Capitol.

“It was a big blur,” he said. “It was just very chaotic and confusing.”

Judge Friedrich questioned the sincerity of Mr. Reffitt’s apology and expressions of remorse, noting that he has been publishing statements from jail in which he portrays himself and other rioters as patriots who were justifiably rebelling against a tyrannical U.S. government.

“Not only are they not patriots, they are direct threats to our democracy and will be punished as such,” the judge said.

"expletive-laden ... tyrannical"? I agree he's “an idiot".

... Mr. Reffitt was armed with a Smith & Wesson pistol in a holster on his waist, carrying zip-tie handcuffs and wearing body armor and a helmet equipped with a video camera when he advanced on the officers, according to prosecutors. He retreated after an officer pepper sprayed him in the face, but he waved on other rioters who ultimately breached the building, prosecutors said....

Mr. Reffitt didn’t testify at his trial before jurors convicted him in March of all five counts in his indictment. The jury found him guilty of obstructing Congress’ joint session, of interfering with police officers outside the Capitol and of threatening his two teenage children if they reported him to law enforcement.

Mr. Reffitt’s 19-year-old son, Jackson, testified that his father told him and his sister, then 16, that they would be traitors if they reported him to authorities and warned them that “traitors get shot.”

Guy Reffitt was a member of the Texas Three Percenters militia group, according to prosecutors. The Three Percenters movement refers to the myth that only 3% of Americans fought in the Revolutionary War against the British.

Jackson is the patriot in the family.

... More than 840 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the riot. Over 340 of them have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanors. More than 220 have been sentenced, with nearly half of them receiving terms of imprisonment. Approximately 150 others have trial dates stretching into 2023.

Mr. Reffitt is one of seven Capitol riot defendants to get a jury trial so far. Jurors have unanimously convicted all seven of them on all counts in their respective indictments.

GoMerrickGo.

[Vrede too]

Judge dismisses Trump's 'immunity' claim in Jan. 6 lawsuits

A federal judge on Tuesday denied former President Donald Trump's bid to dismiss three lawsuits brought by police officers injured in the Jan. 6 riot, rejecting his assertion that he is "absolutely immune" from the claims.

SUE HIM INTO POVERTY!

... “In nearly identically worded motions, President Trump has moved to dismiss all three actions on one ground: he is absolutely immune from suit because the acts complained of fall within the 'outer perimeter' of his presidential responsibilities,” U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta wrote in his brief ruling....

No, scheming a coup after losing an election is not a legit presidential responsibility. Deal with it.

[Vrede too]

Ex-Virginia police officer sentenced to more than 7 years in jail for role in Jan. 6 riot

... At a two-hour sentencing hearing for former Virginia police Sgt. Thomas Robertson in U.S. District Court in Washington, Judge Christopher Cooper told Robertson that as a member of law enforcement he took an oath to obey the law. But citing witness testimony and text messages, the judge said that Robertson had told a close friend that he was prepared to fight a “civil war.” Even after his arrest and initial release on bail, the judge said Robertson destroyed evidence and kept a sophisticated rifle and “explosive device” at his home in violation of the court’s order. Federal authorities ultimately re-arrested Robertson and learned that while on bail, he had arranged to buy more than 30 more guns in violation of the judge’s order.

“You were not some bystander who just got swept up in the crowd,” Cooper said Thursday. “It really seems as though you think of partisan politics as war and that you continue to believe these conspiracy theories.”

In April, Robertson became the second accused Jan. 6 rioter to face trial by jury. Jurors found him guilty on all six counts of which he was charged, including obstruction of an official proceeding and civil disorder.

In March, Guy Reffitt, an alleged recruiter for the far-right Three Percenters group, also received an 87-month prison sentence from a different federal judge after a jury convicted him on charges relating to his alleged participation in the riot, though Reffitt never entered the Capitol.

While federal authorities have charged more than 880 defendants with participation in the riot or related activity, so far only 12 defendants have been found guilty at trials, including 10 who were found guilty of felony charges. Approximately 353 individuals have pleaded guilty to a variety of federal charges, while roughly 280 have pleaded guilty to misdemeanors.

Sources close to the investigation have said that authorities think they have evidence that as many as 2,500 people participated in the riot but it is presently unclear how far the investigation will proceed and certainly unclear how Congress will view the probe if Republicans take over one or both legislative chambers after November’s midterm elections.

As the riot unfolded, Robertson was among hundreds of Trump supporters who broke their way into the Capitol building. He was accompanied by Jacob Fracker, an associate from Virginia with whom he posed for pictures in the Capitol crypt.

Trumpettes sure are stupid.

Fracker, also a former Rocky Mount police officer, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding and agreed to cooperate with federal authorities in the case against Robertson. In exchange for that cooperation, Fracker, who will be sentenced on Aug. 16, is expected to receive a sentence of six months probation, according to court filings.

Too light. Trumpettes are snitches. Robertson offered up a litany of wimpy excuse making.

... By contrast, in a lengthy sentencing memo entered in the court record on Aug. 4, prosecutors raised serious questions about the accuracy and truthfulness of Robertson’s account, asserting he “used his law enforcement training to block Metropolitan Police Officers attempting to hold back the mob.”

Prosecutors argued that “for his efforts to impede law enforcement, overturn the election results and destroy the evidence,” the judge should sentence Robertson to eight years in jail, three years of probation, $2,000 of restitution and a $100 fine for each of the six criminal counts for which he was convicted.

On Thursday, the judge handed down a sentence that trimmed the prosecution’s suggested jail time by nine months, but let the recommendations for probation and fines stand. Robertson will receive credit for the 13 months he has already served behind bars as his trial progressed....

GoMerrickGo. Robertson's idol is likely to be dead when Robertson gets out, hah.

[Vrede too]

Man charged with election interference tied to Capitol riot

A Virginia man who is facing trial on charges that he drove a Hummer packed with guns to Philadelphia to interfere with the 2020 presidential election has been arrested in a separate case that alleges his involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol....

In November 2020, LaMotta and Joshua Macias drove to a Philadelphia convention center where votes were being counted for the presidential election, prosecutors have alleged. The men arrived in a Hummer adorned with a QAnon sticker and loaded with an AR-15-style rifle, more than 100 rounds of ammunition and other weapons....

"Lock her up" TRE45ON is working on getting more Americans locked up than anyone in our history, lol.

I don't know, given the atmosphere at the time, who would think it was a good idea to drive to a convention center where votes were being counted with a Q-Anon bumper sticker on their vehicle?

Q is what's left of IQ once you remove intelligence.

[GoCubsGo]

I'm sure they were there to protest peacefully.

[GoCubsGo]

Meanwhile on OAN.