Toughest sentence yet handed down in January 6-related case for man who threatened lawmakers and

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Source: CNN

tech executives

A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a Texas man who threatened lawmakers and tech executives online on January 6 to 14 months in prison, the toughest sentence yet for a US Capitol riot-related defendant.

Troy Anthony Smocks, who was in Washington on the day of the attack but did not go to the Capitol, pleaded guilty in September to transmitting interstate threats and will get credit for the nine months he spent in jail since his arrest in January.

"Mr. Smocks, from the safety of his hotel room, had the nerve to call people trying to defend the Capitol that day 'cowards,'" said District Judge Tanya Chutkan. "He had the audacity to call the rioters 'patriots.' "

According to his plea agreement, Smocks, under the alias "ColonelTPerez," posted on right-wing social media platform Parler and encouraged people to follow the call of former President Donald Trump, his son Eric Trump and Republican Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama, and to take up arms as "American patriots" after the Capitol building was secured on the evening of January 6. The former President, Eric Trump and Brooks all spoke at the "Stop the Steal" rally that served as a prelude to the riot.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/toughest-sentence-yet-handed-down-in-january-6-related-case-for-man-who-threatened-lawmakers-and-tech-executives/ar-AAPO1YK?li=BBnbcA1

[Enter stage left]

1. STILL not long enough.

[Pobeka]

6. Agree. It should be 6 to 14 years, not months! n/t

[ColinC]

3. Is it a coincidence that he happens to be black?

[LeftInTX]

4. The judge was also black...

I think his former record was a factor. The judge knows that the sentence probably won't be successfully appealed.

According to a sentencing memo filed by the Department of Justice, Smocks has a lengthy criminal history, including 18 prior criminal convictions “spanning from the early 1980s to 2006.” Prior offenses include the production of fraudulent identification documents, bank fraud, forgery, stealing and multiple instances of falsely impersonating a federal agent. He completed his last term of supervised release in 2019.

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/national/capitol-riots/texas-man-troy-smocks-who-posted-threats-toward-congress-on-parler-sentenced-to-14-months-in-prison-racism-donald-trump-chutkan/65-b2167810-1e13-4327-8510-12a038e4d011

[ColinC]

5. Sounds like some mental health services would do him some good. Good lord!

[orangecrush]

7. Good God.

They are letting them go.

Slaps on the wrist.

More will come next time, knowing the consequences are inconsequential.

[ancianita]

11. Yeah, it does feel weak.

But the timeline of justice for the 90+ grand jury indictments going through federal courts in their states, will show that these are taking longer because they're more serious prosecutions and will get stiffer penalties.

None of the 316 who've been indicted have been acquitted. There's a lot left to do in courts across 44 states.

[orangecrush]

13. Thanks

[ancianita]

15. ...

yw, and man, I so love your sig line.

[shawn703]

8. This should be a minimum sentence for participating in the insurrection

Not the toughest handed out yet. And the prosecutors weren’t even asking for jail time. Prosecutors will go after people harder for growing pot than attempting to overthrow the government.

[ancianita]

10. They're not charged with "insurrection." They broke laws for "Parading, Demonstrating or Picketing

in a Capitol Building."
They go through the federal courts in their states and get various trials, deals, then sentences.

None have been acquitted.

Different states give similar sentences, most get time in jail and community service. In Texas one woman got 1 year's probation, a $500 fine and 100 hours of community service. Because Texas, right?

There are levels of proven harm. This is the lowest.

[ancianita]

9. Out of the 109 that have been convicted, the first 18 are at the lowest level of sentencing.

There are still 90 persons to be sentenced. Hopefully, there aren't appeals.

This is building a precedence of rulings that make the punishment fit the individual crime on a case-by-case business. No person acted alone, and the harm to the capitol and the People's Congress were greater than the sum of their individual actions, but each and every one is tried for their individual actions.

There are still 316 indicted by grand juries that are in court or still have to go to court.

I'm no lawyer, but given the unusual number of charged persons -- 645 -- this lowest group fit the pattern of the FBI's and DOJ's up-the-chain method of prosecutions and sentence recommendations.

[LeftInTX]

12. This guy has a pretty big rap sheet with previous federal felony convictions.

Including bank fraud and impersonating a federal agent. The judge cited previous convictions as reasons for the specific sentence.

[ancianita]

14. Yep. IMO, I get a feel for how he twists his racial animus and need to stay away

from violent whites as a way to stay safe within the white defined parameters of patriotism; but I also realize that she seemed pretty familiar with his mentality and didn't seem to say anything close to that. Because the law is the law and he's been repeatedly too hard headed to "get it" yet.

"Chutkan also said she considered Smocks’ lengthy criminal record, during which Smocks frequently pretended to be a member of the military or law enforcement, as well as what she said was a lack of remorse for his actions.

“While I believe and continue to believe that every individual is capable of change and growth, I’m not optimistic in this case,” Chutkan said. “It appears Mr. Smocks is still engaging in deception, and he does not appear to have remorse for his actions.”

“All I hear is what you’ve suffered—you’re being singled out, you’re being prosecuted, you’re the victim of racism,” Chutkan, who is the third Black woman to serve in D.C. District Court, said to Smocks. “Not a single word of acknowledgment of the seriousness and enormity of what you did.”

https://lawandcrime.com/u-s-capitol-siege/the-audacity-to-call-rioters-patriots-judge-in-charge-of-trumps-subpoena-suit-sends-texas-man-to-prison-for-jan-6-related-threats/

From what I've seen so far, if this court was in Texas, his state of residence, it looks as if the Texas court sentences I've read about have been relatively stiffer than those of other courts.

Gotta say, if we keep chewing on each sentence as it's handed out, we'll be chewing on hundreds before this is all over. It's exhausting to even contemplate.

I just hope that people stay trusting, not so quick to judge how the rule of law is unfolding; just as we can't second guess doctors and dentists, and we defer to their professional skill and judgment, we shouldn't be second guessing the court process and federal judges; even the Trump appointees have fairly upheld the law (excepting SCOTUS, a whole other thread).

[LeftInTX]

16. I remembered something about him and women...LOL

When he was arrested...



https://www.amazon.com/Intimately-Speaking-Women-Ltroy-Perez/dp/1511500964

https://www.reddit.com/r/ParlerWatch/comments/ky9i6n/parler_celeb_coloneltperez_or_troy_anthony_smocks/

He was planning on fleeing on the country...
He seems like a piece of work....

[ancianita]

17. Wow. Thanks. He really made himself a public figure, it seems.

Last edited Fri Oct 22, 2021, 11:30 AM - Edit history (1)

I'm also impressed that he's a writer, repugnant as the book looks to me.


Maybe each of these cases will turn up a broader look at the 23% of this nation, but honestly, I've seen enough to say I really won't like what I see.

EDIT: I am so sorry, LeftInTX, to be insensitive about anyone living in Texas; once I saw what I'd written I slapped myself for my stupid insensitivity; living in Florida now, having moved from a blue state, shows just how dumb I am.

[OldBaldy1701E]

18. And yet...

But, this is 'justice' these days.