Judge Amy Berman Jackson Lays Waste To Trump Insurrectionist

0
1812

On Wednesday, federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson handled a plea hearing for Trump supporter — and Capitol rioter — Karl Dresch, and amid the proceedings, Jackson sternly rebuked the kind of ideology that drove Dresch’s original actions and those of his fellow riot participants. In so doing, Jackson also called out Trump, who the judge noted flatly lied to Dresch and his fellow supporters about the integrity of last year’s presidential election. Trump’s false claim that the election was somehow rigged for Joe Biden drove the Capitol riot, as the then-president’s backers attempted to physically stop the formal certification by Congress of Trump’s win.

As Buzzfeed reporter Zoe Tillman summarized it, Jackson observed that Dresch “placed his trust in Trump,” while the former president “repaid that trust” with his election lies. Addressing Dresch directly, the judge also noted that his vote didn’t “count any more than anyone else’s.” Per reports from journalists listening to the proceedings, Jackson commented as follows, addressing Dresch:

‘Your vote doesn’t count any more than anyone else’s. You don’t get to cancel them out and call for a war because you don’t like the result of the election… That’s not patriotism. Patriotism is loyalty to country, loyalty to the Constitution, not loyalty to a single head of state. That’s the tyranny we rejected on July 4, 1776.’

Dresch pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count for illegally parading, demonstrating, or picketing in the Capitol building, and he was sentenced to six months in prison, which is the maximum time behind bars associated with the charge — but since he’s been in jail since January (due in part to concerns about weapons found at his home), Dresch was set for imminent release on account of his time served. Dresch’s plea deal included what Tillman identified as a “partial” cooperation agreement, involving a meeting with investigators before heading home.

Meanwhile, the prevalence of Trump flags in the riot crowd at the Capitol in January makes the underlying, single-minded obsession with Trump clear. These people weren’t sticking up for the interests of the nation — they promoted the interests of Donald Trump, an egomaniacal buffoon who, while in office, routinely glossed over the fact that thousands of Americans were dying from a potentially preventable illness (COVID-19) on his watch to the point that he complained about the impact from so-called “blue states” on the overall COVID-19 tolls in the country. Sure, these “blue states” are part of the United States, but that didn’t faze Trump.