The Biden Justice Department Is Showing Its True Colors -- The Sentencing Demands Being Made in January 6 Cases Are Going Up

For the Most Part the Judges Have Not Followed Along but The Trend Line Is Troubling

Captain’s Log: I represent more than 30 defendants in January 6 cases. Three cases have gone to trial, and I have 8 more cases set for trial in the months ahead. My efforts are all funded by online contributions from the general public. These contributions pay the costs of the litigation, as well as provide income to me that allows me to keep the lights on, coal in the fireplace, and dog food in the cat’s bowl (it’s cheaper). If you believe that January 6 defendants should have the opportunity to pick an attorney they have confidence in, regardless of their personal finances, then you can help. 100% of donated funds go to support my work on behalf of these defendants. All revenue from subscriptions to this Substack also go to those expenses. https://www.givesendgo.com/j6ldff

This story is largely based on anecdotal evidence so it will be easy to find examples that run contrary to the thesis laid out below.

But this is something that has been on my radar for several months, and I have enough of a history in this game to recognize the effort underway by DOJ and the impact that effort is having on the outcome of January 6 cases.

Simply put, early sentencings of January 6 defendants did not produce prison terms as long as DOJ was expecting. I have written that early sentences handed out in the first few cases to be resolved suggested that the Judges did not view the nature of the criminal conduct to be as serious as the DOJ prosecutors were arguing, and they were reluctant to hand out the draconian sentences that DOJ was seeking.

Lets begin with the very first case where a sentence was handed out, which I wrote about back in July 2021 if you check my archives.

The defendant was Paul Hodgkins, and he pled guilty to a single count of violating 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1512(c) which is the “corruptly obstructing” Congress charge.

Hodgins went inside the Capitol as well as inside the Senate Chamber. He didn’t engage in any violence, and he didn’t cause any property destruction. Under the sentencing guidelines, the 1512(c) count had a “base offense level” of 14. The Government and Hodgkins agreed in his plea agreement to one enhancement — that his conduct “substantially interfered with the due administration of justice,” and that resulted in an “adjusted offense level” of 17. Using the Sentencing Table, the recommended range of imprisonment was 15-21 months. The Government asked for 18 months, but Judge Moss imposed a sentence of only 9 months.

The Department of Justice took that case as a “learning experience.'“