Judges punishing Jan. 6 rioters say they fear more political violence as Election Day approaches

WASHINGTON (AP) — Over the past four years, federal court judges in Washington have punished hundreds of rioters who stormed the US Capitol in an unprecedented attack on the country’s democracy. As the next presidential election approaches, some of these judges fear that there could be another outbreak of political violence.

Recently Sentencing a rioter to prisonU.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said he prays Americans accept the results of next month’s election. However, the veteran judge expressed concern that Donald Trump and his allies are spreading the same conspiracy theories that fueled the mob insurrection on January 6, 2021.

“This sore loser is saying the same thing he’s said before,” Walton said earlier this month, without mentioning the Republican presidential candidate by name. “He’s throwing the troops into disarray again. So if he doesn’t get what he wants, it’s not inconceivable that we’ll see the same situation again. And who knows? It could be worse.”

Walton, a nominee 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 Election Day approaches, judges often emphasize the need to send a message beyond their courtrooms that political violence cannot be tolerated.

“It scares me to think about what will happen if someone on either side is unhappy with the election results,” Judge Jia Cobb, a nominee for President Joe Biden, said during a sentencing hearing last month four Capitol rioters.

Judge Rudolph Contreras lamented the possibility of more politically motivated violence as he sentenced a Colorado man. Jeffrey Sabolwho helped other rioters drag a police officer into the crowd. Sabol later told FBI agents that a “call to fight had been announced” and that he “responded to the call because he is a patriotic warrior.”

“It doesn’t take much imagination to imagine a similar call being made in the coming months, and the court would be concerned that Mr. Sabol would respond to that call in the same way,” said Contreras, a candidate for President Barack Obama March before sentencing Sabol to more than five years in prison.

Trump’s distortion of the January 6 attack was one cornerstone of his attempt to retake the White House. The former president has denied any responsibility for the crimes of supporters who smashed windows, attacked police and fled underground as lawmakers met to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.

Trump has vowed to pardon the rioters, whom he calls “patriots” and “hostages,” if he wins in November. And he said he would only accept the results of the upcoming election if they were “free and fair,” raising doubts his unfounded claims in 2020.

Judges have repeatedly used their platform to denounce attempts to downplay the Jan. 6 violence and portray the rioters as political prisoners. And some expressed concerns about what such rhetoric means for the future of the country and its democracy.

“We are in a really difficult time in our country, and I hope we can survive it,” Walton said this month as he condemned a Tennessee nurse who used medical scissors to break through a glass door at the Capitol.

“I have a little daughter, I have a little grandson, and I want America to be available to them and be as good to them as it has been to me,” he added. “But I don’t know if we’ll survive with the mentality that prevailed that day.”

More than 1,500 people have been charged with federal crimes in connection with the Jan. 6 siege, which disrupted the president’s peaceful transfer of power for the first time in the country’s history. Over 1,000 rioters were convicted and sentenced. About 650 of them received prison sentences ranging from a few days to more 22 years.

Justice Department prosecutors have argued in many cases that prison time is necessary to deter convicted Capitol rioters from committing more politically motivated violence.

“As the 2024 presidential election approaches and many loud voices in the media and online continue to sow discord and distrust, an ominous threat of a repeat of January 6 is emerging,” prosecutors repeatedly warned in court filings.

Prosecutors argue that defendants who have shown little or no remorse for their actions on Jan. 6 could violate the law again. Some rioters even seem proud of their crimes.

The first rioter to enter the Capitol texted his mother: “I’ll go again when I get a chance.” A man from Washington state who stormed the Capitol along with other members of the extremist group Proud Boys said a judge“You could give me 100 years and I would do it again.” A Kentucky nurse who joined the uprising said a television interviewer that she would “do it again tomorrow.”

A woman from Colorado known to her social media followers as “J6 Praying Grandma” She avoided prison time in August when a judge convicted her of disorderly conduct and trespassing on Capitol grounds. Rebecca Lavrenz told the judge that God, not Trump, led her to Washington on January 6th.

“And she almost promised to do it again,” said prosecutor Terence Parker.

Prosecutors had demanded a ten-month prison sentence. After her sentencing in April, Lavrenz launched a “media attack” to defend the mob, spread misinformation, undermine trust in the courts and boost her celebrity in a community that believes Jan. 6 is “a good day.” for this country,” Parker said.

Judge Zia Faruqui sentenced Lavrenz to six months of house arrest and fined him $103,000. She stressed the need to “lower the volume” before the next election.

“These outside influences, the people who are tearing our country apart, will not help you,” Faruqui told her.

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Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.