Federal prosecutors signal they will be seeking jail time for some Capitol riot misdemeanants

This post from a few months ago, headlined "Federal judges expressing some concern about lenient plea deals for some Capitol riot defendants," spotlighted some comments by some federal judges about whether federal prosecutors we not being sufficiently "tough" in their prosecutorial approach to some January 6 rioters.  This recent Politico article, headlined "Prosecutors: Jan. 6 defendants should expect jail time," suggests that federal prosecutors got the message as they are now talking up the prospect of seeking jail time even in some cases that are resolved through only misdemeanor charges.  Here are the details:

Federal prosecutors indicated Friday that those who breached the Capitol — even those charged only with misdemeanor offenses like parading — should expect to face jail time, not probation, for their role in the assault.  "Misdemeanor breaches of the Capitol on January 6, 2021 were not minor crimes," Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Birney wrote in a sentencing memo for Valerie Ehrke, one of more than 600 defendants charged for participating in the Capitol mob.  "A probationary sentence … should not necessarily become the default."

Birney, however, did recommend probation for Ehrke, describing her as "the rare case where a probationary sentence is appropriate."  Ehrke entered the Capitol for just one minute, exiting quickly after police began repelling the crowd. She committed no violence or property destruction, according to surveillance videos, and she voluntarily spoke to law enforcement, expressing remorse and ultimately becoming one of the first to plead guilty. All of those factors, Birney wrote in the filing, should result in a probation-only sentence.

Few of the Jan. 6 defendants have reached sentencing so far, with Paul Hodgkins — the first felony case to get to the sentencing stage — facing an eight-month jail term, the longest doled out by judges to date.  Anna Morgan Lloyd, the first Jan. 6 defendant sentenced, received 36 months of probation for a misdemeanor guilty plea from Judge Royce Lamberth.  Judge Thomas Hogan sentenced Jessica and Joshua Bustle, a couple charged with misdemeanor offenses for entering the Capitol, to home confinement and probation, in part because they are expecting the birth of a child soon.

Like prosecutors, though, Lamberth emphasized that other defendants shouldn't necessarily expect probation for participating in the breach of the Capitol. “I don’t want to create the impression that probation is the automatic outcome here because it’s not going to be," Lamberth said during Morgan-Lloyd's sentencing, a comment that Birney pointed to in his sentence recommendation for Ehrke.

Hogan, too, echoed that sentiment, telling the Bustles, "I think the presumption should be that these offenses were an attack on our democracy and that jail time is usually — should be expected."

None of the Jan. 6 defendants facing the most serious charges, including dozens accused of assaulting police officers and a growing contingent charged with conspiring to block the certification of President Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election, have been sentenced yet. Prosecutors say misdemeanor defendants bear responsibility for some of the more egregious crimes committed that day, in part because the sheer size of the mob helped provide cover for the most dangerous participants in the attack.

Some of many prior related posts:

• "Many Capitol rioters unlikely to serve jail time" because some facing only misdemeanor convictions
• Noting the importance of charging policies and practices (and consistency?) as federal rioting charges get resolved from coast-to-coast
• Harsh penal treatment of some Capitol rioters being criticized by notable progressive 
• New plea deals sets possible new precedent for resolving low-level Capitol riot prosecutions with single misdemeanor with 6 month jail maximum
• Notable education efforts prior to sentencing of minor participant in Capitol riot (who seems likely to get probation)
• Feds advocate for (mid-guideline) prison term of 18 months for first Jan 6 defendant due to be sentenced on felony charge 
• First Jan 6 rioter to be sentenced on felony charges gets (below-guideline) sentence of eight months in federal prison 
• Federal judges expressing some concern about lenient plea deals for some Capitol riot defendants
• Notable accounting of federal prosecutions and sentences responding to riots both before and during January 6