Obama-Appointed Judge Sentencing Non-Violent Jan. 6 Defendants To More Prison Time Than Asked

Trump supporters who trespassed at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 are being sentenced to more prison time than prosecutors are seeking by an Obama-appointed federal judge, a report from Reuters outlined Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has already sentenced four non-violent offenders who breached the Capitol, a misdemeanor offense, to 14-45 days in prison, the report claimed.

Earlier this week, Judge Chutkan sentenced two cousins, Robert Bauer and Edward Hemenway, to 45 days for trespassing and taking selfies in the Capitol on January 6. The prosecution was seeking up to 30 days in prison.

The report added that Chutkan sentenced Dona Sue Bissey, a 52-year-old from Indiana, to two weeks of incarceration on Tuesday, though the prosecution recommended the defendant serve probation, “citing her early acceptance of responsibility and cooperation with law enforcement,” Reuters said.

Judge Chutkan, who has the discretion to impose harsher punishments, also sentenced Matthew Mazzocco to 45 days in prison for a misdemeanor offense related to the breach. At the time, the “court hearing marked the first time that one of the judges overseeing the hundreds of Jan. 6 prosecutions imposed a sentence that was harsher than what the government asked for,” the report highlighted.

“There have to be consequences for participating in an attempted violent overthrow of the government, beyond sitting at home,” Chutkan said at a defendant’s hearings.

Back in June, an unarmed grandmother from Indiana was the first to be sentenced in connection to the breach, after she pleaded guilty to one charge of parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. The Daily Wire reported at the time:

A judge sentenced Anna Morgan-Lloyd to three years of probation, $500 in restitution, and 40 hours of community service. Under the terms of her probation, the 49-year-old is also banned from owning a firearm.

Morgan-Lloyd did not participate in any violence and was only in the Capitol building for an estimated 10 minutes, according to court documents. The agreement helped her avoid a potential six months behind bars.

“I’m ashamed that it became a savage display of violence that day,” Morgan-Lloyd said in court, according to the IndyStar. “I would’ve never been there if I had a clue it was going to turn out that way, because it was never my intent to be a part of anything that is so disgraceful to the American people.”

As highlighted by The Daily Wire over the summer, though hundreds — some 600 individuals — have been arrested and charged with crimes related to the breach, “none have yet been charged with ‘treason’ or ‘sedition,’ despite leftists’ claims that the Capitol riots were an armed ‘insurrection’ against the United States government.”

Related: Another Unarmed Trump-Supporting Grandma Charged In Jan 6 Capitol Breach

Related: Unarmed Grandmother First To Be Sentenced In January 6 Capitol Breach, Says She’s Reading About America’s Race Relations 

Related: FBI Finds ‘Scant Evidence’ That January 6 Riot Was ‘Result Of Organized Plot To Overturn’ Election: Reuters