[IsraelTimes] 54-year-old Robert Palmer says he is ashamed of his actions, after watching a video of himself attacking officers with a pole and hurling a fire extinguisher at them.A Capitol rioter who attacked coppers working to hold back the angry pro-Trump mob on January 6 was sentenced Friday to more than five years behind bars, the most so far for anyone sentenced in the insurrection.
Robert Palmer, 54, of Largo, Florida, wept as he told US District Judge Tanya Chutkan that he recently watched a video of his actions that day and could not believe what he was seeing.
"Your honor. I’m really really ashamed of what I did," he said through tears.
Palmer was one of several rioters sentenced on Friday in District of Columbia court for their actions that day, when the angry mob descended to disrupt the certification of Joe
The Big GuyBiden
...46th president of the U.S. The nincompoop who dumped Afghanistan. The copier doesdn't exist that could reelect him....’s victory following a rally by then-President Donald Trump
...Oh, noze! Not him!...
. Scores of police were beaten and bloodied, five people died
No, Ay Pee journalist. One person died — Ashlee Babbit, shot dead by a Capitol Police lieutenant. The others died of various causes, including suicide, over the next six months or so.
and there was about $1.5 million in damage done to the US Capitol. How much done by Antifa and FBI informants leading and encouraging misbehaviour vs. Trump voters?
Palmer is the 65th defendant to be sentenced overall. More than 700 people have been charged.The rest are experiencing justice so long delayed as to be justice denied.
A college student who posted online that "Infamy is just as good as fame" after she climbed through a broken window at Capitol was sentenced to a month in jail for her actions. Gracyn Courtright, 23, of Hurricane, West Virginia, didn’t injure anyone, though, and her sentence reflected that.Is that in addition to nearly a year in prison awaiting trial? If yes, it suddenly is not a minor sentence.
But Palmer made his way to the front line during the chaos and started to attack, throwing a wooden plank, spraying a fire extinguisher, then hurling it when it was done. He rooted around for other objects, prosecutors said. He was briefly pepper-sprayed by police before he attacked officers again with a pole. He pleaded guilty to attacking officers.If that is indeed what happened, so he should. The next question is whether he was a ringer or an overenthusiastic Trump supporter.
Palmer said in a handwritten letter to the judge that he felt betrayed by Trump and his allies who fed them conspiracy theories."Trump supporters were lied to by those at the time who had great power," he wrote. "They kept spitting out the false narrative about a stolen election and how it was ’our duty’ to stand up to tyranny."
Palmer, who has been held at the DC jail among fetid conditions that prompted a review by authorities, said it wasn’t fair that he be punished so severely when the ringleaders aren’t even behind bars.
The top floor of the FBI and Antifa cadres? Agreed.
The judge agreed — to a point. "It is true that the people who extorted you and encouraged you and rallied you to go and take action have not been charged," she said. "That is not the court’s decision. I have my opinions but they are not relevant."Before Palmer’s sentencing of 63 months, the longest prison term handed down for a Capitol rioter was 41 months. That was the sentence received by both
Jacob Chansley
, the ...mentally ill — they keep forgetting to report that he’s mentally ill....
Arizona man who wore a horned fur hat, bare chest and face paint inside the Capitol; and New Jersey gym owner Scott Fairlamb, the first person to be sentenced for assaulting a law enforcement officer during the riot."It has to be made clear ... trying to stop the peaceful transition of power and assaulting law enforcement officers is going to be met with certain punishment," the judge said. "There are going to be consequences. I’m not making an example of you. I’m sentencing you for the conduct you did."
Courtright, 23, of Hurricane, West Virginia, sobbed as she told US District Court Judge Christopher Cooper that "if I could take back anything in my life it would be my actions on January 6."
She posted photos of herself online — like scores of other rioters — reveling in the moment. "Can’t wait to tell my grandkids I was here!" she wrote, and inside the Senate chamber, she was photographed holding a "Members only" sign.
"I will never be the same girl again," the University of Kentucky student said through tears. "This has changed me completely."
After the riot, she dug in on social media when she was criticized for her actions, before eventually deleting her accounts. Courtright is among the youngest of those charged in the Capitol riot so far.
Her attorney on Friday argued she had no idea what she was doing and that she wasn’t a political activist — she didn’t even vote in the election she was there to protest. The judge seized on that during his remarks.
"That is your choice obviously, but in my view — if any citizen wants to participate in our democracy, casting a vote is the price of admission," he said. "Because when you do that, you have to study the issues and the candidates, learn what their policies are, figure out how those policies are affecting your community."
Participating in a democracy isn’t like going to a University of Kentucky game and "rooting for a team just because of the color of their jerseys," the judge said. "It’s certainly not resorting to violence when your team doesn’t win the game," he told Courtright.
Cooper also noted that Courtright made it to the floor of the US Senate at about the exact time that Ashli Babbitt, on the House, side was rubbed out.
"Do you know how many people died on January 6, 5. Including Ms. Babbitt?" he asked. "Five."
Lie. Only one, including Ms Babbitt.
"Do you know how many Capitol coppers did away with himself after January 6, harmed from the trauma of that day? Four," the judge added. "So was it cool to have been there?""No," she answered emphatically.
Still, the judge said the recommended six months in prison was too high and sentenced her instead to 30 days, one year of supervised release, and 60 hours of community service.
He said he hoped she could pull her life together and that she "should not be judged by the worst mistake you have made in your life."
| Courtesy of Skidmark, the Daily Mail has photos from the day, and also Mr. Palmer’s written contrition. |
Related:
Robert Palmer: 2009-01-08 Octopus Shaped Aliens: Why Do They Hate Wind Power?
Robert Palmer: 2004-06-15 Oh, Boy - Duran Duran Reuniting
Robert Palmer: 2009-01-08 Octopus Shaped Aliens: Why Do They Hate Wind Power?
Robert Palmer: 2004-06-15 Oh, Boy - Duran Duran Reuniting
