Jan. 6 Rioter Who Led Attack on Police Receives 7+ Year Prison Term
Debarylife – On Wednesday, a man from Washington State who invaded the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was given a seven years and three months prison sentence.
In November, Taylor James Johnatakis was found guilty on seven counts, including assaulting police officers and obstructing an official proceeding.
Federal prosecutors claim that Johnatakis organized the protesters who attacked the police line outside the Capitol.”Specifically, Johnatakis used his megaphone to tell rioters to move toward the police line and to ‘pack it in!'” “Pack it in!” reads a press release.
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“Johnatakis then instructed the crowd through the megaphone that they were going to push the bike racks ‘one foot’ at a time and counted, ‘one, two, three, GO!!'”
Prosecutors alleged that at least one cop was hurt during the altercation.
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Johnatakis represented himself during his trial, which caused Judge Royce Lamberth to become frustrated with his unpredictable actions. As per The Associated Press, he presented his case by asserting that he was a “sovereign citizen,” a position that the judge dismissed as “gobbledygook.”
During his sentencing, Johnatakis also questioned the judge, asking, “Does the record reflect that I repent in my sins?” Lamberth responded that he was not taking questions, according to the AP.
Lamberth stated in a letter following the hearing on Wednesday that the sentencing of the Jan. 6 rioters “aims to discourage these defendants from future violence, dissuade others from taking inspiration from the Capitol riot, and express the community’s moral disapproval of this conduct.”
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Rejecting the notion that Johnatakis was merely expressing his right to free speech, he said that his acts constituted “neither civil disobedience nor First Amendment-protected activity.”
“A society in which everyone does what is right by his lights, where adherence to the law is optional, would be a society of vigilantism, lawlessness, and anarchy,” he stated.
During the trial, Johnatakis made statements that Lamberth claimed demonstrated he “does not accept responsibility for his actions and does not show true remorse.”
“In any angry mob, there are leaders and there are followers,” he said in a note. “A leader, Mr. Johnatakis was. That day, he was aware of what he was doing.