US District Judge Royce Lamberth issued a stark warning on Thursday, expressing surprise and anger at the comments made by elected officials about the Jan 6 riot. The widespread refusal to admit that the events were wrong poses a dire threat to American democracy, Lamberth warned.
Terrible event
According to Lamberth, the Jan 6 riot represented “the antithesis of patriotism.” Lamberth wrote that he “cannot condone the notion that those who broke the law on January 6 did nothing wrong.”
Widespread lies
“I have been dismayed to see distortions and outright falsehoods seep into the public consciousness,” Lamberth wrote. He issued the statement during a resentencing hearing for one Jan 6 defendant, during which he expressed anger at the defendant’s refusal to accept responsibility for his illegal actions on Jan 6.
To the top
“I have been shocked to watch some public figures try to rewrite history,” Lamberth stated, “claiming rioters behaved ‘in an orderly fashion’ like ordinary tourists, or martyrizing convicted January 6 defendants as ‘political prisoners’ or even, incredible, ‘hostages.’
Not by name
While Lamberth did not name any of those “public figures,” it is clear who he was referring to. Both Trump and Representative Elise Stefanik have referred to convicted Jan 6 criminals as hostages.
Not true
Lamberth also insisted that he could not condone the idea “that those duly convicted with all the safeguards of the United States Consitution, including a right to trial by jury in felony cases, are political prisoners or hostages.”
Stats
Three years after the attack on the Capitol, over 1,265 people have been charged with crimes relating to the riot. Over 700 have been convicted on federal charges, with many sentenced to time in prison.
Organizational problem
On the first anniversary of the Jan 6 riot, the Republican National Committee passed a resolution calling it “legitimate political discourse.” The attack resulted in five officers losing their lives, and the Justice Department estimates that hundreds more were injured.
Nothing Ordinary
Republican Representative Andrew Clyde compared the Jan 6 rioters to tourists. Rioters were heard chanting “hang Mike Pence” as they rampaged through the Capitol building.
From the bottom up
James Little, the Jan 6 defendant being resentenced by Lamberth, made social media posts claiming the riot was staged by the FBI. Conspiracy theories about the riot being orchestrated by government agencies, ANTIFA, or some other group have spread online despite not being backed by evidence.
Unprecedented occurrence
Lamberth said he was “accustomed to defendants who refuse to accept that they did anything wrong. But in my thirty-seven years on the bench, I cannot recall a time when such meritless justifications of criminal activity have gone mainstream.”
Fighting back the flood
The judge admitted that he did “not expect [his] remarks to fully stem the tide of falsehoods. But I hope a little truth will go a long way.”
Dangerous situation
Comments that dismissed, downplayed, or denied the events of Jan 6, especially those made by elected officials, were criticized by Lambeth as “preposterous.” He warned that they “could presage further danger to our country.”
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