Federal Judges Have Shown Leniency in Nearly All Jan. 6 Cases
Federal Judges Have Shown Leniency in Nearly All Jan. 6 Cases
Nearly all federal judges have given lighter sentences than prosecutors sought, invalidating a key right-wing talking point.
Y'all remember when Congress tried to pass a bill that would have expedited these cases and given the justice department more resources so they could prosecute each on to the fullest extent of the law? And then Republicans blocked it.
A lot of good Reasons for the people to revolt, our part in climate catastrophe for private profit, economic servitude to capital concentrating extremists that have captured the government that was supposed to protect the people from them, etc.
Jim crow nostalgia/white nationalism wasn't one of them. They set back any positive change for a long time, because any form of resistance, like a general strike, will be conflated with their willfully ignorant racist asses.
These fucking judges.
Idk, it sounds about white to me
Today I learned they hanged Mumford for less than what some of these people did.
Today I learned they hanged Mumford for less than what some of these people did.
The irony is, the Trumpers want to be able to deploy this style of harsh and unjust justice at will.
They were gleeful at the chance to do it on Jan 6th and those police officers that died, oh well, casualties of their war for freedum to do exactly that as they want. It would also be great to shut up the BLM, gays, climate scientists, drag queens, minorities, immigrants, and especially Democrats and progressives.
They would love to hang all of these "evil" people that kill babies and drink their blood. It's really terrifying what they are digesting inside their cult feedback loops when one begins to peel back the layers.
They are now more than a bunch of dolts being grifted, well there's still plenty of them being grifted without a doubt, but the issues still remain with their reality and what they hope to do to clean up the world and to simplify everything down.
The irony is, the Trumpers want to be able to deploy this style of harsh and unjust justice at will.
So do people here arguing for harsh sentences because they don't like them.
Mob Justice isn't justice regardless of who the mob is
So let's imagine that standard were applied.
You have over a thousand citizens executed within 3 months of the event.
Do you think folks would have considered that a proportional response?
Turns out that 19th century military justice during wartime isn't a good model for most people's concept of justice.
That was during wartime and it was a court martial. Courts martial are still notoriously harsher than civil courts today.
The headline upsets me on its face, and without question fuck these traitorous cult members, but immediately I go to thoughts of "how much lighter?" and "how much does it compare to typical trials?"
Thank you for a level-headed critical thought about the article, rather than the rest of the trash in this comment section which is nearly universally just knee-jerk mindless outrage.
That being said, I would be curious, like you, how this compares to typical trials.
Also, as some allude to in the article, this is actually a good thing because it absolutely undercuts the maga cultist outrage that this is an out of control judiciary handing out excessive punishments to political prisoners. Not that the facts will get to them, but at least I have the facts to confirm it.
I can't be sure, but from what little I've seen of judges in action, I would guess substantially... but perhaps not for the reason we think.
Yes lack of remorse is a major component to sentencing, but so are a few other things that I think work on 1/6 rioters' favor. Likelihood to reoffend is arguably low because 1/6 was uniquely stupid. Being told by a US president to commit the crime is arguably somewhat mitigating (to the person, not to the president). These crimes were committed in what ostensibly could (should) have been a peaceful protest that got out of hand, so judges might question the severity of premeditation. All of these are typically valid reasons to lighten up sentencing. And then there's a sadly invalid one that probably mattered - light-skinned people are sentenced lighter than dark-skinned ones, and most of the 1/6 protestors were white.
In aggregate, there is value to going hard on all the traitors. Of individual offenders, it might be a more difficult place for a judge to sit, for both good and terrible reasons. But importantly, there's a lot of argument that we're not looking at judges that thought 1/6 was "perfectly fine". Such a judge would more likely find an excuse to dismiss (with or without prejudice) if they think the case is moving towards prosecution. We have simply not seen a lot of that.
Traitors.
Weren't a lot of them installed by the GOP leading up to Trump's presidency? I know the GOP was pushing through a lot if confirmations when they had control of the senate.
That's been the GOP M.O. for a while, but according to the info presented in the article the Dem appointed judges have actually been slightly more lenient (sentenced less than what prosecution sought 92% of cases, against the Trump appointed 90%).
I'm sure there's more nuance to it if you look at it case by case, but it seems like across the board judges are handing out lenient sentences for Jan 6.
The article points out that there are not large differences in leniency between judges appointed by different presidents,
and that, if anything, judges appointed by Republicans are harsher.and that, if anything, judges appointed by Republicans are harsher.
? I'm skimming the article but these passages seem to suggest the opposite:
Judges appointed by Trump have issued lesser sentences than prosecutors wanted at only a slightly higher rate than Obama appointees. Out of 173 cases, Trump appointees gave lighter sentences than the government requested in 156. Trump appointees agreed to the sentences recommended by prosecutors in 16 cases, while issuing a harsher sentence in one.
By contrast, judges appointed by President Bill Clinton have meted out the harshest sentences, yet they have still been more lenient than prosecutors recommended slightly more than half the time. George W. Bush appointed judges have issued lesser sentences than prosecutors sought in 50 out of 54 cases, or 92 percent, while judges appointed by Ronald Reagan issued more lenient sentences in 42 out of 68 cases, or 61 percent.
The most lenient individual judge handling January 6 cases was not appointed by Trump or Biden, but by George W. Bush. Judge John Bates, now on “senior” or semi-retired status, issued sentences more lenient than prosecutors sought in all 28 of the January 6 cases he handled, often turning down requests for prison time and letting defendants walk free.
Curiously enough, the plurality were appointed by Obama.
Not even the first time Obama appointees cut far-right idiots and assholes some slack. Still found it fucking hilarious that Eric Holder couldn't find anyone in the Bush Administration worth prosecuting. Particularly when Bush goons like Ron DeSantis and Chris Christie would move right on over to state government positions in subsequent years.
Remind me again what the Constitutional punishment for treason is?
The definition of treason in the COTUS is very narrow and this clearly does not meet that definition. Not that the facts matter when we're trying to be outraged.
why are you such an apologist for idiot seditionists that literally attacked the capitol and attempted to stop the peaceful transition of power?
every time you chime in it's "yeah people want to be outraged it's bullshit"
Fuck you. Seeing chuds smearing shit in the capital is an outrage, fuck outta' here with your bullshit gaslighting.
that shit is fucked sideways.
It is in no way clear that it doesn’t meet the definition. An armed group attacked our capital for the purpose of overthrowing the government.
“ Chief Justice Marshall was careful, however, to state that the Court did not mean that no person could be guilty of this crime who had not appeared in arms against the country. He stated: On the contrary, if war be actually levied, that is, if a body of men be actually assembled for the purpose of effecting by force a treasonable purpose, all those who perform any part, however minute, or however remote from the scene of action, and who are actually leagued in the general conspiracy, are to be considered as traitors.”
A light wrist slapping. Bad boy! Get in timeout.
Just wait for when they let Trump off and run in Colorado and Maine despite the insurrection article. Should be interesting.
I am curious what they will let things off for. It is one thing to deny the term insurrection being accurate, it is another say he is immune to charges for trying to use fake electors. I think the denial of losing the election after even having an investigation come back hired by them and say it was legitimate, the fake electors and the multiple usages of the term fight with the constant we will give more information later is what adds up to the full grasp of it being undeniable that he intended to overthrow our system of government through stealing the election.
When they try to break it down into parts and minimize each, is what will assist them being able to deny terminology and make light of the situation.
Probably cause they are all white.
Probably because their crimes paled compared to riots in major cities in the previous few years. How many of the people who took over Seattle are in prison? There was federal property there.
I'm pretty sure trying to overthrow the federal government doesn't compare to any riot in the last few decades, let alone years. Or, you know, ever.
I can't believe you've honestly thought through this idea that protestors who caused admittedly significant property damage and disruption are worse than protestors who intended to overthrow the government.
I find paraphrasing arguments helps you see if they make sense. Think about making that argument in court. "Sure the defendant intended to sabotage the election, but these other guys trashed a car and occupied a park! That's definitely worse!"
Yep, not a single person was arrested. https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/thousands-gather-capitol-hill-solidarity-with-demonstrations-portland/STVDEK5XUJHWLL2HQZT2NWDYVY/
I love this talking point every time it is brought up.
Yes there has been civil unrest. Yes there have been violent actors involved who have often turned an intended peaceful protest into a riot.
People do get arrested at these events. Many are convicted for crimes.
Protests are a form of civil unrest, they are not an attempt to take over or stop official, constitutionally prescribed procedures. J6 was a seditious action.
Here are a few more items to educate yourself on, and there are many other examples that show the fallacy in your what-about-ism about all the violent rioters who walked away.
What you're saying is literally insane.
Nobody took over Seattle you muppet. I live here and I'm pretty sure I would have noticed.
One was for equal rights and the other was to overthrow the federal government. A lot of the perceived leniency for the protesters was due to the brutal arrests and a lack of Miranda rights. Don't forget that they shot at the protesters and not the insurrectionists. The sentences were not out of the kindness of the judges hearts, it was due to the unlawful arrests.
Federal property was also involved in the insurrection so I don't really follow your argument.
Seattle is about 88 sq miles. A bunch of people blocked off 1/4 of 1% of 1 sq mile and mostly had a hippy dippy protest that didn't harm anyone. During multiple days there were a few incidents during which a tiny number of people hurt each other or did bad shit and people were in fact charged.
Meanwhile Jan 6th was about overthrowing democracy and installing a dictator. An act which would almost certainly have lead to civil war, killed millions, and destroyed out economy. You need some perspective.
Yeah just attempting to overthrow democracy and install a dictator. Pales so much
their crimes paled compared to riots
Does a riot
Okay, yes, sure. But it wasn't like when THOSE PEOPLE do riots.
Stop doing that!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Federal judges handling the criminal cases of hundreds of people charged in connection with the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol have overwhelmingly issued sentences far more lenient than Justice Department prosecutors sought, an analysis by The Intercept reveals.
In 82 percent of the 719 January 6-related cases that have been resolved, and in which the defendants have either pleaded guilty or been convicted, judges have issued lighter sentences than federal prosecutors requested, the analysis of Justice Department data through December 4, 2023, shows.
Trump and his allies have repeatedly claimed that the federal judicial system has been unnecessarily punitive in its treatment of January 6 defendants, complaining that they are “political prisoners” who have been unfairly persecuted for trying to prevent the congressional certification of Biden’s 2020 election.
The January 6 defendants have been charged with a wide range of crimes, including low-level violations like disorderly conduct and unlawful entry that would be forgettable if they were not committed with the aim of derailing the peaceful transfer of power.
On his way to Washington, Minuta filmed a video of himself warning that “millions will die” in a looming civil war; just before the Capitol riot began, he and Meggs were part of a security detail for Trump adviser Roger Stone.
Judge John Bates, now on “senior” or semi-retired status, issued sentences more lenient than prosecutors sought in all 28 of the January 6 cases he handled, often turning down requests for prison time and letting defendants walk free.
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overwhelmingly issued sentences far more lenient than Justice Department prosecutors sought
This is not the same thing as leniency, really. Prosecutors request high, defense requests low, judge picks somewhere in the middle pretty often.