Prosecutors have substantially raised their request for the time in jail Capitol riot defendant Frank Giustino receives after behavior in court including a reference to the authorities handling the case as a so-called “clown show.”
Their original request was 21 days, and now, it’s four months. Information to that effect was highlighted on Twitter by CBS journalist Scott MacFarlane. In his original participation in the Capitol riot, Giustino was among the first to actually enter the building, forcing his way inside less than five minutes after the Capitol was breached that day. Prosecutors made a connection between Giustino’s defiance amid his criminal case and an evident support on the defendant’s part for the gist of the Capitol riot, in contrast to the cases where there has been some kind of at least somewhat more serious remorse seen from a riot participant.
According to MacFarlane, Giustino might even subscribe to some version of what’s known as sovereign citizen ideology, according to which the basic structures of the U.S. government and legal system as we know them simply aren’t legitimate because of some convoluted reasoning. (In other words, the moniker for the conspiracy theory, invoking the idea of a sovereign citizen, sums it up effectively.) “It’s not going to happen,” Giustino replied to the judge at a recent proceeding, according to MacFarlane. “There’s going to be no sentencing because I haven’t been arraigned… there’s no court.” Well, there is a court, but okay. At the time, Giustino had announced he would be sending his legal representation packing and representing himself going forward, which seems like an unpromising decision.
Other notable developments recently seen in Capitol riot cases include the arrest of a participant from Missouri who admitted he brought his elderly mother with him into a tunnel at the Capitol complex where some of the most intense physical violence was seen that day.
RARE MOVE: Justice Dept *increases* its recommended prison sentence in Jan 6 case of Frank Giustino, citing “his most recent behavior in court”
Instead of prior 21-day prison recommendation, feds now ask for *4-months*.. in the latest of a colorful series of court filing
(more) pic.twitter.com/066AiG6VCS
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) June 30, 2023
