Judges resist as Trump's comeback prompts defiance among Jan. 6 defendants
During several sentencings on Friday, judges witnessed how little attention some Jan. 6 offenders pay to their admonitions. (Which is to say, not at all.)
TroibNews 
Federal judges in Washington D.C. have been raising alarms for four years about the extremism and misinformation that incited a mob supporting Donald Trump to attack the Capitol.
Now, they may find themselves isolated and under siege.
A shift in atmosphere, prompted by Trump’s anticipated resurgence in Washington, is permeating the federal courthouse, where around 1,600 individuals involved in the Jan. 6 insurrection have been prosecuted. On Friday, during four sentencing hearings, judges from both parties grappled with their concerns about the fragility of democracy, while preparing for Trump's potential action to pardon many they believe orchestrated one of America's most significant domestic threats.
“The lie that the [2020] election was stolen is still being disseminated,” remarked U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who criticized some Jan. 6 supporters trying to depict the attackers as “hostages” or “victims” of a misguided government. Although she didn’t explicitly name Trump, Jackson described the act of storming the Capitol “at the direction of a disappointed candidate” as “the definition of tyranny and authoritarianism.”
Contrary to diminishing over the past four years, the issue seems to be intensifying, according to Jackson, who noted during a sentencing hearing for a Proud Boys member: “The volume’s getting turned up.”
Meanwhile, Guy Reffitt, a notable figure among the Jan. 6 rioters, was vocalizing his discontent with the court's proceedings. He criticized the "bullshit" he believed was directed at him by Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich. Having been imprisoned since early 2021, Reffitt expressed his bitterness, noting he had been “in my feelings” since Biden’s election victory.
“Trump is now going to be the president of the United States,” he declared during an expletive-infused outburst, claiming, “I’m out of my feelings.”
Friedrich, who re-sentenced Reffitt to nearly seven years in prison, expressed concern about him becoming increasingly unrepentant regarding his role in the violence of that day. Reffitt, she stated, “does seem to revel in his status” as a figurehead among a vocal group of supporters and “loves the J6 family dynamics.”
“No one has a problem with your feelings,” Friedrich told him. “It’s the actions you took with your feelings.”
Over the past four years, Washington's judges had considerable support. President Joe Biden has emphasized a strong denunciation of the Jan. 6 attack throughout his presidency, making it a central theme in his and Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaigns against Trump. The Jan. 6 select committee further reinforced this message with new evidence regarding Trump's attempts to subvert the 2020 election and mislead his followers about its legitimacy.
However, with Republicans soon to dominate the White House and Congress, Trump has pledged to use his authority to reshape the narrative of Jan. 6, portraying those involved as political prisoners and hinting at retribution against investigators.
As this impending shift looms, judges are increasingly echoing these changes in their courtroom comments.
“We are now living in a time where people’s attention spans are short … it’s easy to forget about the past,” stated U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta during another sentencing hearing on Friday. “This is not the past that ought to be forgotten.”
Judge Mehta, also appointed by Obama, lamented that the contributions of police officers defending democracy that day have been “largely shunted aside” by the public.
For many of the Jan. 6 defendants and their backers, the judges' warnings seem to be losing impact. Many, emboldened by Trump’s resurgence, openly dismiss these warnings. As Reffitt exited the courtroom back to prison, fellow defendant Brandon Fellows, who had served most of a 3.5-year sentence for entering the Capitol and taking a seat at a senator's desk, called out to him: “Guy, you’ll be out soon.”
Other defendants are sensing favorable momentum, often swapping feelings of remorse for defiance, confident that Trump will soon intervene to pardon them.
In another courtroom proceeding on Friday, Philip Grillo, a 50-year-old New Yorker facing sentencing for his participation on Jan. 6, expressed regret until U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth sentenced him to one year in prison. Lamberth, appointed by Ronald Reagan, ordered Grillo taken into custody immediately.
Grillo had been convicted by a jury a year earlier on a felony charge of obstruction of Congress and several misdemeanors, but was sentenced solely for the misdemeanors following a Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the application of the obstruction charge in June, and after prosecutors decided to drop it.
Typically, misdemeanor defendants are allowed to surrender later and often remain free while appealing their sentences. Lamberth’s choice to remand Grillo to D.C. jail immediately was unusual and unexplained.
“In light of where we are in the process, the defendant will be remanded today,” Lamberth said, following a motion from Grillo’s attorneys to postpone sentencing due to the expectation of a Trump pardon.
“We didn’t expect this today,” said Grillo’s public defender, Michael Padden, as the attorneys gathered his belongings.
“Don’t worry, Phil … It’s only 50 days,” a supporter shouted from the gallery. “This is a travesty. This is purely political.”
“Trump’s going to pardon me anyway,” replied Grillo, who did not engage in violent behavior on Jan. 6 but had used a bullhorn to rally other rioters and helped push open a door for them to enter the building. “We stormed the Capitol … We shut it down,” he remarked in a video played by prosecutors on Friday.
Grillo claimed he was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana that day and asserted he didn't realize Congress met at the Capitol. Lamberth found this implausible, given Grillo's background as a GOP party leader in Queens and his recent congressional candidacy.
“His excuses disintegrated immediately on contact with the facts,” Lamberth stated, labeling Grillo’s account “an abject farce.”
Earlier in the hearing, Grillo adopted a more subdued and regretful demeanor than during his trial. “I’m mortified by my actions that day,” he admitted. “I’m absolutely mortified … I wish I never went.”
While Lamberth acknowledged this delayed remorse, he expressed doubt about its authenticity. Unlike some judges, he refrained from commenting on Trump’s promises of pardons for Jan. 6 defendants but indicated his decisions would remain unchanged regardless of potential clemency.
“The president alone bears the power of the pardon and the responsibility that comes with it,” said the judge, who faced criticism this year for publicly rejecting Trump's claims that the Jan. 6 defendants were “hostages.”
“I will do my job … and the president will do his. Simple as that,” the judge asserted.
Not all defendants have responded with defiance. Mehta's remarks were made while sentencing Richard Markey, who assaulted officers during the riot, to two and a half years in prison. Tearfully, Markey apologized for his actions, prompting Mehta to acknowledge that his violence was an anomaly in an otherwise lawful life.
“I don’t know if we’ve done enough as a country to reflect on how that happened,” Mehta commented, noting that many involved in Jan. 6 had clean records before that day.
He expressed regret that Markey, and indeed many participants in the riot, had ever come to Washington.
“But,” Mehta concluded, “we can’t wipe away history.”
Debra A Smith for TROIB News
Now, they may find themselves isolated and under siege.
A shift in atmosphere, prompted by Trump’s anticipated resurgence in Washington, is permeating the federal courthouse, where around 1,600 individuals involved in the Jan. 6 insurrection have been prosecuted. On Friday, during four sentencing hearings, judges from both parties grappled with their concerns about the fragility of democracy, while preparing for Trump's potential action to pardon many they believe orchestrated one of America's most significant domestic threats.
“The lie that the [2020] election was stolen is still being disseminated,” remarked U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who criticized some Jan. 6 supporters trying to depict the attackers as “hostages” or “victims” of a misguided government. Although she didn’t explicitly name Trump, Jackson described the act of storming the Capitol “at the direction of a disappointed candidate” as “the definition of tyranny and authoritarianism.”
Contrary to diminishing over the past four years, the issue seems to be intensifying, according to Jackson, who noted during a sentencing hearing for a Proud Boys member: “The volume’s getting turned up.”
Meanwhile, Guy Reffitt, a notable figure among the Jan. 6 rioters, was vocalizing his discontent with the court's proceedings. He criticized the "bullshit" he believed was directed at him by Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich. Having been imprisoned since early 2021, Reffitt expressed his bitterness, noting he had been “in my feelings” since Biden’s election victory.
“Trump is now going to be the president of the United States,” he declared during an expletive-infused outburst, claiming, “I’m out of my feelings.”
Friedrich, who re-sentenced Reffitt to nearly seven years in prison, expressed concern about him becoming increasingly unrepentant regarding his role in the violence of that day. Reffitt, she stated, “does seem to revel in his status” as a figurehead among a vocal group of supporters and “loves the J6 family dynamics.”
“No one has a problem with your feelings,” Friedrich told him. “It’s the actions you took with your feelings.”
Over the past four years, Washington's judges had considerable support. President Joe Biden has emphasized a strong denunciation of the Jan. 6 attack throughout his presidency, making it a central theme in his and Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaigns against Trump. The Jan. 6 select committee further reinforced this message with new evidence regarding Trump's attempts to subvert the 2020 election and mislead his followers about its legitimacy.
However, with Republicans soon to dominate the White House and Congress, Trump has pledged to use his authority to reshape the narrative of Jan. 6, portraying those involved as political prisoners and hinting at retribution against investigators.
As this impending shift looms, judges are increasingly echoing these changes in their courtroom comments.
“We are now living in a time where people’s attention spans are short … it’s easy to forget about the past,” stated U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta during another sentencing hearing on Friday. “This is not the past that ought to be forgotten.”
Judge Mehta, also appointed by Obama, lamented that the contributions of police officers defending democracy that day have been “largely shunted aside” by the public.
For many of the Jan. 6 defendants and their backers, the judges' warnings seem to be losing impact. Many, emboldened by Trump’s resurgence, openly dismiss these warnings. As Reffitt exited the courtroom back to prison, fellow defendant Brandon Fellows, who had served most of a 3.5-year sentence for entering the Capitol and taking a seat at a senator's desk, called out to him: “Guy, you’ll be out soon.”
Other defendants are sensing favorable momentum, often swapping feelings of remorse for defiance, confident that Trump will soon intervene to pardon them.
In another courtroom proceeding on Friday, Philip Grillo, a 50-year-old New Yorker facing sentencing for his participation on Jan. 6, expressed regret until U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth sentenced him to one year in prison. Lamberth, appointed by Ronald Reagan, ordered Grillo taken into custody immediately.
Grillo had been convicted by a jury a year earlier on a felony charge of obstruction of Congress and several misdemeanors, but was sentenced solely for the misdemeanors following a Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the application of the obstruction charge in June, and after prosecutors decided to drop it.
Typically, misdemeanor defendants are allowed to surrender later and often remain free while appealing their sentences. Lamberth’s choice to remand Grillo to D.C. jail immediately was unusual and unexplained.
“In light of where we are in the process, the defendant will be remanded today,” Lamberth said, following a motion from Grillo’s attorneys to postpone sentencing due to the expectation of a Trump pardon.
“We didn’t expect this today,” said Grillo’s public defender, Michael Padden, as the attorneys gathered his belongings.
“Don’t worry, Phil … It’s only 50 days,” a supporter shouted from the gallery. “This is a travesty. This is purely political.”
“Trump’s going to pardon me anyway,” replied Grillo, who did not engage in violent behavior on Jan. 6 but had used a bullhorn to rally other rioters and helped push open a door for them to enter the building. “We stormed the Capitol … We shut it down,” he remarked in a video played by prosecutors on Friday.
Grillo claimed he was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana that day and asserted he didn't realize Congress met at the Capitol. Lamberth found this implausible, given Grillo's background as a GOP party leader in Queens and his recent congressional candidacy.
“His excuses disintegrated immediately on contact with the facts,” Lamberth stated, labeling Grillo’s account “an abject farce.”
Earlier in the hearing, Grillo adopted a more subdued and regretful demeanor than during his trial. “I’m mortified by my actions that day,” he admitted. “I’m absolutely mortified … I wish I never went.”
While Lamberth acknowledged this delayed remorse, he expressed doubt about its authenticity. Unlike some judges, he refrained from commenting on Trump’s promises of pardons for Jan. 6 defendants but indicated his decisions would remain unchanged regardless of potential clemency.
“The president alone bears the power of the pardon and the responsibility that comes with it,” said the judge, who faced criticism this year for publicly rejecting Trump's claims that the Jan. 6 defendants were “hostages.”
“I will do my job … and the president will do his. Simple as that,” the judge asserted.
Not all defendants have responded with defiance. Mehta's remarks were made while sentencing Richard Markey, who assaulted officers during the riot, to two and a half years in prison. Tearfully, Markey apologized for his actions, prompting Mehta to acknowledge that his violence was an anomaly in an otherwise lawful life.
“I don’t know if we’ve done enough as a country to reflect on how that happened,” Mehta commented, noting that many involved in Jan. 6 had clean records before that day.
He expressed regret that Markey, and indeed many participants in the riot, had ever come to Washington.
“But,” Mehta concluded, “we can’t wipe away history.”
Debra A Smith for TROIB News
