Judges, Prosecutors Diverge on Sentencing Jan. 6 Capitol Rioters
Setting punishments for nonviolent participants in pro-Trump riot reflects array of mitigating and aggravating factors
https://www.wsj.com/articles/judges-prosecutors-diverge-on-sentencing-jan-6-capitol-rioters-11634203801
“It doesn’t matter how many cases are brought, they all have to be sorted out individually and consistently for similar conduct,” he said. “If you are surprised by how a judge sentences someone, you have to realize that’s the discretion the judge has.”
Twelve of the Jan. 6 defendants were sentenced before this week’s hearings, according to a Justice Department list released last week. Most received either probation or a few months in jail, having generally not engaged in violence and pleaded guilty early to misdemeanors. Many others who have entered guilty pleas are scheduled to be sentenced in the coming months; hundreds more have pleaded not guilty and are continuing to fight the charges.
Attorney General Merrick Garland says prosecutors ‘are making determinations in every case about what charge fits the offense, what charge fits the law.’
Attorney General Merrick Garland has told other Justice Department officials he is concerned that jailing rioters who weren’t hard-core extremists for extensive periods could further radicalize them,
according to people familiar with the matter, a concern he has expressed more broadly about defendants entering the criminal justice system. But he has left recommending sentences to the prosecutors directly involved, who have been making decisions based on nine factors, court documents indicate.
Prosecutors “are making determinations in every case about what charge fits the offense, what charge fits the law,”
Mr. Garland said, speaking at the New Yorker Festival last week. “I am quite aware that there are people who are criticizing us for not prosecuting sufficiently and others who are complaining that we are prosecuting too harshly. This is, you know, part of the territory for any prosecutor in any case.”
Many cases have been delayed as prosecutors struggle to share with defense lawyers thousands of hours of footage from security and officers’ body cameras, along with hundreds of thousands of documents related to the broader investigation. Prosecutors have asked to delay the first trial, scheduled to begin next month, to finish turning over the footage and documents to the defense team.
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