The federal judges who hear these cases deserve more respect.
Donald Trump's repeated promises to consider pardoning the January 6 attackers have been rightly viewed as a cowardly political move that would both satisfy the demands of his supporters and support lies like: The violent attack on the U.S. Capitol was a peaceful protest, and those charged and convicted were political prisoners and even "hostages." But the promise was also more serious: A blanket pardon for the January 6 rioters would be a serious attack on the legitimacy of the criminal legal system, and particularly on the role of the justice system within that system.
Since January 6, 2021, federal judges in the District Court in Washington, D.C., have worked tirelessly to handle nearly 1,600 criminal cases filed by the U.S. Department of Justice against alleged assaults on police officers, destruction and theft of government property, and causing personal injury. Members of Congress and the Vice President of the United States went on the run and prevented the Electoral College votes from being counted for more than six hours. The crimes charged range from misdemeanors such as trespassing and disorderly conduct to serious felonies such as assaulting a police officer, obstructing official proceedings and seditious conspiracy.
In every case, federal judges work to ensure that defendants' constitutional rights are protected, including the rights to counsel, due process, and a jury trial. More than 1,000 of those charged have pleaded guilty. After trials, more than 250 people were found guilty. More than 800 people were sentenced to prison terms, some of whom were allowed to serve their sentences in home detention. Others were given suspended sentences. Throughout, federal judges — whether appointed by a Republican president, a Democratic president or former President Trump himself — were committed to handling cases carefully and in accordance with U.S. law.
It takes thousands of hours of intense, hard work. These judges have seen the evidence over and over again — seen their fellow Americans beat police officers with baseball bats and flagpoles, erect a gallows and hang the vice president, scale the walls of the Capitol, break through Capitol windows, and brag about their of rebellion. social media. They amplified the lies about January 6 by sentencing some who repented and many who remained defiant and unapologetic. Regardless of political affiliation, judges were unanimous in condemning the conduct of those convicted in court.
As Judge Royce C. Lamberth, a Republican appointee who has served on the bench for nearly 40 years, said when sentencing one defendant on January 6:
The court cannot condone the shameless attempts by (the defendant) or anyone else to misinterpret or distort what happened. It cannot tolerate the notion that those who broke the law on January 6 did nothing wrong, or that those formally convicted are protected by all the guarantees of the U.S. Constitution, including the right to a jury trial in felony cases , are political prisoners or hostages.
So let me set the record straight, based on what I learned from presiding over multiple prosecutions on January 6, hearing from dozens of witnesses, watching hundreds of hours of video footage, and reading thousands of pages of evidence. On January 6, 2021, a mob invaded and occupied the U.S. Capitol, using force to interrupt the peaceful transfer of power enshrined in the Constitution and our republican tradition…
Although the rioters failed to achieve their ultimate goal, their actions still resulted in the deaths of many people, the injury of more than 140 law enforcement officers, and lasting trauma to the entire country. This is not patriotism; This is the antithesis of patriotism.
Many of these judges were threatened with violence by supporters of the defendants on January 6, and those in court are now asking them to delay proceedings, including their sentencing, because Donald Trump has promised to pardon them. For the most part, the judges stayed firm and moved on. As Judge Reggie B. Walton, another Republican appointee, noted, "The possible future exercise of the executive branch's discretionary power to pardon is independent of the court's obligation to discharge the legal responsibilities of the judiciary." By Tet. Judge Carl J. Nichols, a Trump appointee, lamented, “To all the people who passed away on January 6, A full pardon would be frustrating and disappointing for the accused, or anyone close to it," he said, though he added that it was not his "decision" and agreed to reschedule the pardon. Jury trials run from late 2024 until after the inauguration.
The judicial branch is an integral part of our country's criminal legal system. Federal judges in state district courts must ensure that every defendant before them is treated fairly and has the same constitutional rights. Their duty is to provide justice not only to those who are able or those who are favored by the president, but also to those who are poor and unfavored. In my nearly 20 years of experience as a former federal prosecutor, most defendants respect the judges handling their cases and accept their sentences.
Some defendants sentenced by federal judges later received presidential clemency—pardons or reduced sentences. This act of mercy is sometimes granted to defendants who take responsibility and improve their lives while serving time in prison. It is sometimes used when sentencing practices have changed dramatically, making a sentence imposed long ago appear harsh. But a blanket pardon for the attackers of January 6, regardless of the severity of their crimes and their remorse (or lack thereof), would be a sweeping statement of our criminal legal system and the role of the judiciary within that system. attack. , and their actions after January 6th. These federal judges deserve more respect.