By Steve Neavling
A judge appointed by former President Ronald Reagan slammed prominent Republicans for making “preposterous” claims about how Jan. 6 cases have been handled by the courts and warned that such rhetoric “could presage further danger to our country.”
Senior U.S. District Judge Royce Lemberth made the statements at a resentencing hearing Thursday, saying he was “shocked” at how elected Republicans have distorted the facts surrounding the violent siege of the U.S. Capitol, NBC News reports.
Lamberth didn’t identify the politicians by name, but cited quotes used by several people in Congress. They included Reps. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., who said rioters acted “in an orderly fashion” like tourists, Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who called Jan. 6 inmates “political prisoners,” and Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who called the defendants “hostages,” a label used by former President Trump.
“The Court is 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,” Lamberth said, according to his prepared remarks.
“I have been dismayed to see distortions and outright falsehoods seep into the public consciousness,” Lamberth continued, adding: “The Court fears that such destructive, misguided rhetoric could presage further danger to our country.”
Lamberth said he wanted to “set the record straight, based on what I’ve learned presiding over many January 6 prosecutions, hearing from dozens of witnesses, watching hundreds of hours of video footage, and reading thousands of pages of evidence.”
“On January 6, 2021, a mob of people invaded and occupied the United States Capitol, using force to interrupt the peaceful transfer of power mandated by the Constitution and our republican heritage,” he said. “The rioters interfered with a necessary step in the constitutional process, disrupted the lawful transfer of power, and thus jeopardized the American constitutional order. … This was not patriotism; it was the antithesis of patriotism.”
About 140 police officers were assaulted during the riot.
