Federal prosecutors are requesting more than five years in prison for Capitol rioter Robert Palmer, who repeatedly assaulted police while at the Capitol complex during the violence in January. Specifically, federal authorities are after a sentence of 63 months for Palmer, who used items including a wooden plank and a fire extinguisher in his attempts to inflict physical harm on law enforcement personnel. After these events, Palmer told a reporter that he was there to “subvert a democratic election and that he hoped for military intervention to overturn the election,” as federal prosecutors summarized it.
I feel like we're at the point where there's no risk of hyperbole when talking about the threat to democracy posed by Trump's Republican Party.
This is nation-ending stuff we're dealing with here and folks better wake up soon.
I'll do my part. Think about what yours is.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) December 10, 2021
Palmer was also observed to have “lacked remorse,” as reporter Scott MacFarlane put it. Notably, federal Judge Tanya Chutkan is the judge set to handle Palmer’s sentencing on December 17, and Chutkan has repeatedly gone above recommendations from prosecutors in handing down sentences for Capitol rioters — although the length of time in jail that was recommended by prosecutors could certainly make things different this time around. The recommended prison term for Palmer is the highest sentencing request that federal prosecutors have made so far in a Capitol riot-related case.
NEW: Justice Dept requests 63-month (5 yr+) prison sentence in Jan 6 case of Robert Palmer
Feds say Palmer assaulted police w/ 5-foot pole, sprayed fire extinguisher at officers, "hoped for military intervention to overturn election", carried vulgar Biden sign, lacked remorse pic.twitter.com/rK1MPfYVDQ
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) December 10, 2021
In the past and as previously reported on this site, Chutkan sentenced rioters Robert Bauer and Edward Hemenway to 45 days in prison each, although prosecutors requested just 30 days behind bars for both of them, and Chutkan sentenced Indiana resident Dona Bissey and Texas resident Matthew Mazzocco to 14 and 45 days in prison, respectively. Prosecutors had requested three years of probation for Bissey and three months of house arrest for Mazzocco. In Mazzocco’s case, Chutkan insisted that there “have to be consequences for participating in an attempted violent overthrow of the government beyond sitting at home.” Chutkan also sentenced Texas resident Troy Smocks to 14 months in jail for going to D.C. around the time of the riot and posting violent threats online. In his case, prosecutors were angling for 8-10 months.
Given how much evidence is already publicly available, I'm not even sure that Trump coming out and being like "Yeah, I secretly plotted to end American democracy and I'm trying to do it again" would fundamentally shift the political dynamics in America. That's how bad it is.
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) December 11, 2021
Throughout all of these proceedings, Trump has remained firm in his delirious conviction that the presidential election was somehow rigged for Joe Biden. He has also repeatedly defended the actions of the individuals who participated in the storming of the Capitol that day, excusing what happened as some kind of logical consequence of the imaginary systematic election fraud that he claims produced Biden’s resounding victory.
Former Trump WH chief Mark Meadows turned over a coup powerpoint — which is bad enough. But recall that was what he chose to give the Jan. 6 committee — raising possibility that what he withheld may be worse
— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) December 11, 2021
