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September 1, 2021
Notable accounting of federal prosecutions and sentences responding to riots both before and during January 6
This recent AP article, headlined "Records rebut claims of unequal treatment of Jan. 6 rioters," provides a valuable and interesting accounting of some of the federal criminal accountability that has followed various riots in recent times. Here are excerpts:
An Associated Press review of court documents in more than 300 federal cases stemming from the protests sparked by George Floyd’s death last year shows that dozens of people charged have been convicted of serious crimes and sent to prison.
The AP found that more than 120 defendants across the United States have pleaded guilty or were convicted at trial of federal crimes including rioting, arson and conspiracy. More than 70 defendants who’ve been sentenced so far have gotten an average of about 27 months behind bars. At least 10 received prison terms of five years or more....
To be sure, some defendants have received lenient deals. At least 19 who have been sentenced across the country got no prison time or time served, according to the AP’s review. Many pleaded guilty to lower-level offenses, such as misdemeanor assault, but some were convicted of more serious charges, including civil disorder.
In Portland, Oregon — where demonstrations, many turning violent, occurred nightly for months after a white Minneapolis police officer killed Floyd — about 60 of the roughly 100 cases that were brought have been dismissed, court records show. Most of those defendants received deferred resolution agreements, under which prosecutors promise to drop charges after a certain amount of time if the defendant stays out of trouble and completes things like community service. Some Jan. 6 defendants have complained it’s unfair they aren’t getting the same deals.
But President Joe Biden’s Justice Department has continued the vast majority of the racial injustice protest cases brought across the U.S. under Trump and has often pushed for lengthy prison time for people convicted of serious crimes. Since Biden took office in January, federal prosecutors have brought some new cases stemming from last year’s protests.
Conservatives have sought to equate the attack on the Capitol with the Black Lives Matter protests, accusing Democrats of being hypocrites for not denouncing the violence after Floyd’s death as loudly as the Jan. 6 insurrection. And some Republicans have seized on the handling of the protest cases in Portland to suggest that the Jan. 6 defendants are being politically persecuted.
That has not been borne out when comparing the sentences that federal judges have given to Jan. 6 defendants and those who are accused of crimes during the protests against police brutality across the country. Only a handful of the nearly 600 people who’ve been charged in the insurrection have received their punishments so far, and just three people have been sentenced to time behind bars. The vast majority of the most serious cases — involving those accused of assaulting police officers or conspiring to block the certification of Biden’s victory — remain unresolved.
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
September 1, 2021 at 06:05 PM | Permalink
Comments
The whole article is well detailed.
This is a basic point:
“The property damage or accusations of arson and looting from last year, those were serious and they were dealt with seriously, but they weren’t an attack on the very core constitutional processes that we rely on in a democracy, nor were they an attack on the United States Congress,” said Kent Greenfield, a professor at Boston College Law School.
I agree what both ends. The limited excesses of protests need to be addressed. In a few cases, we had people upset if you even dared to bring up the idea, given what was being protested. But, the 1A protests the right of "peaceful" assembly. There are limits.
OTOH, the 1/6 insurrection is not the same thing as let's say attacking a police car during a protest or something. It's an attempt to interfere with the core transfer of power in our way of government. It is uniquely flagged in the 14A as worthy of special treatment. Insurrection attempts, unlike even something like murdering of a postal worker, is of special importance here.
The article provides to me somewhat surprising detail of the breadth of punishments (something to me somewhat underreported) of state protests. We have only had a few sentencing moments for the 1/6, so we can not fully compare. If anything, one or more instances probably warrented more punishment.
Posted by: Joe | Sep 1, 2021 7:41:04 PM
