WAPO: Capitol riot defendants facing jail have regrets. Judges aren't buying it.

[lindysalsagal]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=&w=540
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/capitol-riot-defendants-regrets/2021/02/26/b3d06e3e-76b1-11eb-9537-496158cc5fd9_story.html

By Rachel Weiner and Spencer S. Hsu Feb. 26, 2021 at 12:04 p.m. EST

For many accused of attempting to obstruct the confirmation of electoral college votes in the U.S. presidential election on Jan. 6, arrest was a reality check. Now they are getting another.

As defendants charged in the Capitol siege have been coming through court, some have been shifting blame onto former president Donald Trump, downplaying their actions or expressing remorse. But federal judges — particularly those who work a few blocks from the Capitol — aren’t buying it.

One judge called a defendant’s claim of civil disobedience “detached from reality.” Another verbally smacked down an attorney who tried to use QAnon — the sprawling set of false claims that have coalesced into an extremist ideology — to explain his client shouting “Kill them all!” Other judges have been giving defendants civics lessons on how democracy works.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, the chief federal jurist for the District of Columbia, responded incredulously to one defense attorney who said his client believed Trump requested his unlawful conduct. She said if a president could authorize overturning an election he would be no different from “a king or a dictator,” and “that is not how we operate here.”

[Tommy Carcetti]

1. They did it their way. nt

[orangecrush]

20. "Regrets"

I'll say.

[tblue37]

2. K&R for visibility. nt

[MontanaMama]

3. These terrorists need to be billed for repairs at our Capitol.

They need to pay for the damage they did. The current costs exceed 30 million. If we divide that evenly among the people whose names we have on record maybe they will turn in the people we have yet to identify in an effort to get their bills reduced. This is infuriating.

[sheshe2]

7. +1!

[Hestia]

11. Agreed! All fines, along with repair costs be put into a fund with oversite so there is enough there

to pay for metal working and glaziers without costing the taxpayer. The bill is getting too large to not be paid back

[Butterflylady]

16. Well, $30,000,000.00 million divided by 300 is $100,000.00

Sounds good to me.

[wryter2000]

4. I wonder where they got those banners and flags

They obviously were all manufactured by the same entity, and they must have cost a bunch of money. I'll bet you'll find either Trump campaign money behind them or money from big donors.

[taxi]

9. The facts and the truth would not be the same in this case

It was said that the rally organizers had $500,000. The rally may or may not have purchased the items, but either way the items would have been meant for the rally and nothing else. That being said, yes, I agree with you.

[Grasswire2]

10. China. nt

[dianaredwing]

15. Probably these folks

https://www.ft.com/content/9eb753d8-098a-4c05-af95-0e11fb1607df

[Aristus]

5. More proof of how few of these maggots ever served in the military.

If anyone in a position of authority issues an unlawful order, a soldier is duty-bound to disobey it. And ignorance is not an excuse. The Army teaches (or used to) recruits as to what constitutes a lawful or an unlawful order.

Trump gave an unlawful order. These idiots aren't absolved of responsibility just because they obeyed it.

[Faux pas]

6. Kickin' with gusto!

[lagomorph777]

8. I wish this were true. Almost half of them are getting out on bail (or even for free).

[Hestia]

13. We gotta raise hell about costs other than bail. At least they are getting court appearance

dates

[Cha]

12. Good.. Tough Shit.. you do the Crime

you do the time.

[Corgigal]

26. Sounds like time for a

Sammy Davis song...

[DeminPennswoods]

14. If Trump told you to jump off the nearest bridge or go

play in traffic on the closest interstate, would you do it?

[ffr]

17. Yet another reason to keep Guantanamo open.

[Lucky Luciano]

18. 😝

[BobTheSubgenius]

19. "...a reality check."

I wonder how long it will be before reality slips away again.

[TNNurse]

21. I served on a jury that convicted a man of felony stupidity.

His friend could not rent that big truck because he did not have a credit card.
So our defendant signed the paperwork and rented the truck.
His friend left it on the side of the road with much damage. It was a big truck so it was a felony.
Our defendant thought he was innocent because he did not damage the truck.
Everyone on the jury understood that if you sign the paperwork you are responsible for the vehicle.

This people do not understand that they showed up and did the damage because he told them to makes them guilty of stupidity.
Felony stupidity.

[niyad]

22. INSURRECTION. NOT "riot". Come on, wapo, you can, and MUST, do better.

[Aussie105]

23. Regret?

Sure!
Regret they got caught, regret they can't avoid penalties, regret that their Revolution didn't happen.

No pity. No quarter. That law book coming down is going to hit them hard.

This is not about revenge.
It's about applying the law of the country fairly, and above all, making sure they get the message and don't regroup to try again. Because they would.

[DemUnleashed]

24. So What??!

Who cares if they regret it...so what?! A bank robber who gets caught regrets what he did too because he sees his future prison life!!

[joe_stampingbull]

25. Waaaaah!

that evil stupid conman made us do it!!!!

[LiberalLovinLug]

27. Insurrectionists are caught between a rock and a hard place...And I love it

With all judges.

Because if its a "normal" judge, who is non partisan in his rulings, he/she will spare no quarter with these miscreants.

And if its a born again Trump humping judge? Good luck blaming your predicament on that judge's sworn Dear Leader, who can do no wrong.

[Evolve Dammit]

28. Fuck 'em. I've been to protest for 40 plus years. All non-violent. This was a coup, an attack on US.

[lindysalsagal]

32. Me, too. Never did protests become violent.

[mackdaddy]

29. Wait until that big metal door slams behind them for a decade or two.

That will be real regrets.

But Trumpie says he loves you, so that should make it all better.

[greenjar_01]

31. Imagine sitting in jail for even two weeks over Trump's nonsense case that he won the election

He lost by 7 million votes. Some of these people are actually going to be sentenced to several YEARS in a federal penitentiary. It's truly incredible that they let their lives be thrown away for such piddling nonsense.

[greenjar_01]

30. These people were whipped up into a frothing mob

Of course they start to backtrack in the cold light of day and consequences. Everybody does.

There are plenty of people serving hefty prison terms because of actions done while in the throes of some irrational influence. That's life. That's why we teach our kids instincts toward civility and decency. That's the training. These people need to accept the consequences of their actions. Let's be clear: they have all snarled angry invective at the stories of crimes *other* people have committed. Why they get this "The lesson I learned" treatment even before trial is obvious.

These people were wilding.

[lindysalsagal]

33. Well said.

[MyMission]

34. I read something recently

That talked about numbers. Sorry I don't recall where it was, but I'm commenting on my impressions. It mentioned the hundreds who actually entered the building, as opposed to double that who "only" stayed outside on capitol property, which is also a crime. And then the hoards who did neither but were there pushing and cheering the others on and calling for death and destruction of our elected officials and Democratic process.

The ones being arrested and sought are those who entered the building and also those who were within the capitol perimeter. Any who entered the building or grounds did so unlawfully, after violent actions to break through the police lines and the capitol building. Many of them committed violence, others ignored it.

There were many there who did neither. I might suggest that they had some restraint or common sense or awareness or were clearly there to protest and not physically actively interfere. The ones that went in because they were invited or allowed or following the crowd are guilty, and there is video evidence.

What were they thinking when they just walked into the building, as some have claimed? Maybe they weren't thinking. Or they were following the crowd or imagined orders from their leader? Doesn't matter. For many who "breached" there's social media evidence of prior posts that advocated violence disguised as patriotism. Many of them hoped to enact pressure, revenge and violence and are now lying about their motives, claiming regret. Maybe some are honestly regretful. Ultimately they planned, hoped, or allowed themselves to get wild, get caught up in the frenzy and that makes them dangerous, whether their actions were deliberate or not.

There were more who did not enter the building or grounds. Simply put and giving them the benefit of the doubt, they knew better than to trespass. That was a point made in what I read. The ones being arrested should have known better than to engage in criminal behavior.