Will J6 Defendants Have Their Sentences Reduced?

Could there be at least some minor relief on the way for the January 6 rioters in terms of the sentences they are receiving? It’s a possibility, no matter how slim, following a federal court’s decision yesterday in the case of retired Air Force lieutenant colonel Larry R. Brock Jr., whose attorneys had argued against a sentencing enhancement that could have seen him locked up for even more time. The court agreed to the request, striking down the enhanced sentencing while upholding his felony conviction for obstructing an official proceeding. This could open the door for as many as 100 other rioters who were found guilty of the same charge and given enhanced sentences. It could also hold positive implications for 650 other defendants whose cases are still pending. But for many, it may not make much of a difference (if any) since most of the judges have already been handing down lower sentences than prosecutors have called for. (National Review)

A federal court on Friday struck down a sentencing enhancement brought against January 6 defendants facing felony obstruction charges, a ruling that opens the door to potential resentencing for over 100 individuals convicted for participating in the riot at the Capitol.

The particular case on which the court ruled dealt with retired Air Force lieutenant colonel Larry R. Brock Jr., whose felony conviction for obstruction of an official proceeding was upheld in the decision issued by the D.C. circuit court.

While the court’s move to overturn the sentencing enhancement — which is used to increase suggested sentences for judges to consider — may create new work for prosecutors  as they move through the approximately 650 remaining charged cases stemming from January 6, sentences levied by D.C. judges generally fell below enhanced guidelines.

What really needs to be thrown out is every conviction we’ve seen thus far for Obstructing an Official Proceeding. It’s the most common one that’s been used against J6 defendants, but it was only intended originally to apply to the destruction of evidence, primarily in financial crimes. These courts are saying that it applies to official acts of Congress, but the Supreme Court is scheduled to review an appeal to that determination on April 16.

Unfortunately, this turn of events will probably wind up being little more than a small moral victory that does nothing to address the obvious, underlying problem. We have covered the sentencing of many of the J6 defendants here and the sentences requested by Joe Biden’s weaponized Justice Department against nearly all of them have been uniformly ridiculous. With the exception of a relative handful of rioters who physically attacked law enforcement officers and/or damaged or stole public property, the vast majority were guilting of nothing more than trespassing. Yet they are sitting in jail for months and years at a time. 

This massive witchhunt has been dragging on for years and it shows no signs of slowing down. Just this week, Jacob Chansley (aka the “QAnon Shaman”) reached a plea deal and entered a guilty plea to a single charge of Obstructing an Official Proceeding. He wasn’t accused of any sort of violence or causing any damage. There are even embarrassing (for the Biden administration) videos of him being peacefully escorted around the inside of the Capitol Building by the police and giving a speech blessing and thanking the police. What’s he really being charged for? Dressing up in a stupid costume? Even without an enhanced sentence, he is expected to be given three to four years behind bars. He’s already spent 8 months in jail. For trespassing. 

Meanwhile, the government is still arresting people more than three years after the fact. Yesterday they were arresting a journalist in Texas for covering the riot.

In just a few moments, journalist Steve Baker (@TPC4USA) will be turning himself in to the Dallas FBI field office.

He is being arrested for his coverage of January 6.

The charges are currently unknown.

I’ll be covering everything from inside the courtroom later today. pic.twitter.com/HuVqrFL0tK

— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) March 1, 2024

This entire clown show is absurd. This is not the equal administration of justice. It’s political revenge for embarrassing the regime, as others have already pointed out. All Baker is “guilty” of is filming and publishing the events of the day. But you can bet that you won’t see any of our legacy media journalists rushing to his defense. They may come to regret that if/when the worm turns and the DOJ comes for them. Too many on the left seem to be quite content with a two-tier system of justice as long as their political enemies are the ones suffering the consequences. They should keep in mind that when you set the rules of the game to be rigged, those same rules can be applied to you later.