Posted on 03/02/2024 8:25:26 PM PST by SeekAndFind
People swept up in the Department of Justice’s January 6 dragnet have been getting extraordinarily harsh sentences. While daily headlines are filled with stories of repeat offenders walking away with slaps on the wrist following brutal crimes, the January 6 defendants, almost every one of whom had no previous criminal record (that I’m aware of), were being sent away for years simply for having stepped onto Capitol grounds.
These were insane sentences compared to what happened to violent and destructive Antifa and BLM protestors. Now, though, a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a unanimous decision, held that the prosecutors and the judges improperly used a “multiplier” to reach these sentences.
The decision arises in the case of only one defendant—Larry Brock—a retired Air Force officer who entered the capitol wearing a helmet and tactical vest and who was carrying zip ties that he testified he found on the floor and picked up. There’s no indication that he did anything other than wander through the Capitol.
Nevertheless, for these sins, Brock was sentenced to two years in prison. He filed an appeal alleging that the prosecutors wrongly demanded and the judge gave a sentencing multiplier based upon his having violated U.S.S.G. sec. 2J1.2(b)(2). That provision says that, for Base Offense Level 14, “If the offense resulted in substantial interference with the administration of justice, increase [the Base Offense Level] by 3 levels.”
Image: The DOJ’s and DC judges’ dream sentence for January 6 defendants. (Actually, it’s the execution of Louis XVI, another moment of leftism run amok.)
That’s a big leap. According to Brock’s attorney, Brock received a sentence almost twice as long as he would have received had it not been for the misapplication of the guidelines.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
On appeal, the D.C. Circuit appellate court got it right, explaining that “we hold that the ‘administration of justice’ enhancement does not apply to interference with the legislative process of certifying electoral votes.” While acknowledging politely that the trial judges were desperately trying to enhance the sentence of the January 6 defendants, the appellate court essentially said that Brock’s argument was a no-brainer:
Section 2J1.2’s text, context, and commentary show that “administration of justice” refers to judicial, quasi-judicial, and adjunct investigative proceedings, but does not extend to the unique congressional function of certifying electoral college votes.
The real nutjobs on the January 6th brouhaha, are the politicos who are making it out to be a Pearl Harbor or a 9/11 type event.
Washington DC should be renamed “Snowflake City.”
My gut instinct tells me it was way over 100.
I could be wrong, but very few of those people did anything
to warrant substantial prison time.
The bastards who sentenced them need to be the ones who should be required to complete the sentences.
Worse. There are J6 freedom fighters who haven’t been brought to trial yet. How is this even possible? The DC judges perpetrating this 8th Amendment atrocity need to be disbarred and ruined.
Supreme Court will hear a case that could undo J6 Capitol riot charge against hundreds, including Trump
BY MARK SHERMAN, December 13, 2023, apnews.com
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will hear an appeal that could upend hundreds of charges stemming from the Capitol riot, including against former President Donald Trump.
The justices will review a charge of obstruction of an official proceeding that has been brought against more than 300 people. The charge refers to the disruption of Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory over Trump.
That’s among four counts brought against Trump in special counsel Jack Smith’s case that accuses the 2024 Republican presidential primary front-runner of conspiring to overturn the results of his election loss. Trump is also charged with conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.
The court’s decision to weigh in on the obstruction charge could threaten the start of Trump’s trial, currently scheduled for March 4. The justices separately are considering whether to rule quickly on Trump’s claim that he can’t be prosecuted for actions taken within his role as president. A federal judge already has rejected that argument.
A lawyer for Trump didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment on the Supreme Court’s decision to review the charge.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments in March or April, with a decision expected by early summer.
The obstruction charge, which carries up to 20 years behind bars, is among the most widely used felony charges brought in the massive federal prosecution following the deadly insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a bid to keep Biden, a Democrat, from taking the White House.
At least 152 people have been convicted at trial or pleaded guilty to obstructing an official proceeding, and at least 108 of them have been sentenced, according to an Associated Press review of court records.
Appeals court ruling that vacates Capitol rioter’s sentence could impact dozens of Jan. 6 cases
bY ALANNA DURKIN RICHER, March 1, 2024, newsyahoo,com
pic——This image from Senate Television video, contained in the Justice Department’s affidavit in support of a criminal complaint and arrest warrant for Larry Rendall Brock, shows Brock, right, on the floor of the Senate at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. A federal appeals court in Washington, on March 1, 2024, has ordered a new sentence for Brock, who stormed the U.S. Capitol dressed in combat gear, in a ruling that could impact dozens of other cases stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. While a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld Brock’s conviction, the court said a judge wrongly applied an enhancement that lengthened the recommended prison sentence range under federal guidelines. (Department of Justice via AP)
A federal appeals court in Washington has ordered a new sentence for a retired Air Force officer who stormed the U.S. Capitol dressed in combat gear, in a ruling issued Friday that could impact dozens of other cases stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.
While a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld Larry Brock’s conviction, the court said a judge wrongly applied an enhancement that lengthened the recommended prison sentence range under federal guidelines.
The enhancement — on the grounds that Brock’s conduct resulted in “substantial interference with the administration of justice” — has been applied in more than 100 other Jan. 6 defendants’ cases, said Patricia Hartman, a spokesperson for the Washington’s U.S. attorney’s office. If the ruling stands, those defendants who have not already completed their prison terms may push for new sentences.
When asked whether prosecutors will appeal the ruling, Hartman said they are considering their options.
Brock was sentenced last year to two years in prison after being convicted of a felony charge of obstruction of an official proceeding and misdemeanor offenses. He is currently serving his sentence at a federal lockup in Missouri and is expected to be released in December, according to online Bureau of Prisons records.
Brock’s attorney didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Friday.
The obstruction felony charge is already at the center of another case the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on next month that could upended hundreds of Capitol riot cases. The justices agreed to hear the appeal filed by lawyers for another rioter charged with obstruction of an official proceeding — one of the most widely used charges brought in the Jan. 6 attack.
In Brock’s case, the appeals court said the “administration of justice” sentencing enhancement applies to judicial proceedings but does not extend to interfering with the certification of the electoral vote. That’s what Congress was meeting to do on Jan. 6 when supporters of Donald Trump stormed the Capitol.
“Brock’s interference with one stage of the Electoral College vote-counting process— while no doubt endangering our democratic processes and temporarily derailing Congress’s constitutional work—did not interfere with the ‘administration of justice,’” the three-judge panel wrote.
It’s unclear to what extent Brock’s — or other defendants’ — punishments might be reduced on re-sentencing. With the sentencing enhancement, the range in Brock’s case under federal guidelines was 24 to 30 months. U.S. District Judge John Bates sentenced Brock to the low end of those guidelines, which merely provide direction for judges when they are considering punishments and are not mandatory.
Brock’s attorney has said in court papers that the misapplied enhancement likely increased his client’s sentence by about nine months. Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of five years in prison.
Brock, of Grapevine, Texas, was wearing a helmet and tactical vest when he joined the mob that attacked the Capitol and went onto the Senate floor only minutes after Vice President Mike Pence, senators and their staff evacuated the chamber. Brock picked up a discarded pair of zip-tie handcuffs and was photographed in a widely shared photo holding the cuffs on the Senate floor.
His lawyer said in court papers that Brock did not pick up the cuffs to do any harm.
____
Richer reported from Boston.
But I suspect because ALL of our courts are tied up processing thousands - no! - MILLIONS of 'asylum' cases!!
ALL of them have been wrongly sentenced.
What would you expect from the Demoncratic party ... equal justice?
justice is slow, but eventually gets it right in the end usually.
It is just a shame many of these innocent protesters’ lives have been ruined. They need to hit the left with billions and billions in law suits
Agreed…
\/
if this is proven...do these prosecutors and judges carry a bond ?
if so...
www.bondsforthewin.com
.
Yep you did get it wrong.
I could be wrong, but very few None of those people did anything to warrant substantial prison time.
get back to me about Ray Epps and appropriate sentencing.
The J6 “defendents” proved out the existence of the Deep Police State in this country
Some of them did mix it up with the police.
I’m not going to condone that.
Some of our people used poor judgement, but by and large
that wasn’t the case.
I agree with that, and coupled with other revelations about
the FBI, it has gone full on rogue.
The trial judges are petty tyrants. I always tell people who think about litigating anything to be prepared to file an appeal. Most appeals aren’t successful however, but lower court judges just do whatever they want most of the time.
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