Political prisoner: Capitol rioter receives 7 year prison sentence. What’s the longest a BLM rioter has spent behind bars? 7 hours? https://t.co/3NSB1KVbtQ
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) August 1, 2022
(Tony Sifert, Headline USA) A Trump-appointed federal judge has sentenced a nonviolent J6 defendant to over seven years in prison, even though he did not enter the Capitol during the riot, according to the Texas Tribune.
Guy Reffitt, who was found guilty on March 8 on several counts having to do with civil disorder and disrupting an official proceeding, appears to have been given the draconian sentence for having the temerity to seek a jury trial in the case.
“Prosecutors claimed that because Reffitt was armed with a firearm, chose to go to trial and was a primary instigator in the riots, he deserved the longest sentence to date,” the Tribune reported.
While U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich rejected the prosecution’s attempt to include a so-called “terrorism enhancement” in sentencing Reffitt, she appeared to agree that Reffitt did not show sufficient remorse for a lighter sentence.
In response to Reffitt’s pre-sentencing apology, Friedrich suggested that the convicted defendant was not sincere.
JUDGE FRIEDRICH: “I can’t help but wonder, whether like many other January 6 defendants, I’m hearing what I’d like to hear from you as opposed to what you really believe.”
— Daniel Barnes (@dnlbrns) August 1, 2022
“I can’t help but wonder, whether like many other January 6 defendants, I’m hearing what I’d like to hear from you as opposed to what you really believe,” Judge Friedrich said.
The sentencing hearing also included testimony from Reffitt’s son, Jackson, who argued that his father should serve the maximum sentence possible because of his shameful political views.
“In a statement read at Monday’s hearing, he called for the maximum sentence for his father and hoped for mental health treatment to be a part of his sentence,” the Tribune reported.
In an interview with CNN after the sentencing, Jackson suggested that his father deserved his sentence simply because he supported President Trump.
“Whether it had a political motive at this point doesn’t matter,” Reffitt said. “It’s more about what he does and who he did it for.”
