Some members of the media scoff when you refer to the January 6 defendants as political prisoners. Liberal America views them as traitors who deserve lengthy jail sentences for fomenting a rebellion. Based on the security camera footage inside the Capitol Building that day, it was no such thing—most people were merely walking around.
Capitol Police officers can be seen directing those who entered, including Jacob Chansley, aka the Q’Anon Shaman, who also said a prayer for law enforcement inside the building. No doubt, some aspects of this day were downright bizarre, but a federal appeals court ruled that jail sentences for up to 100 people might have been improperly enhanced (via Politico):
A federal appeals court panel ruled Friday that Jan. 6 defendants who obstructed Congress’ work had their sentences improperly lengthened by judges who determined that they had interfered with the “administration of justice.”
The decision could force district court judges in Washington, D.C. to recalculate, and perhaps reduce, the sentences of more than 100 Jan. 6 rioters convicted of felony obstruction for their roles in the attack on the Capitol that threatened the transfer of power three years ago.
[…]
Federal sentencing guidelines encourage judges to apply the “administration of justice” enhancement to defendants who disrupt judicial proceedings like grand jury investigations or court hearings. The enhancement can increase recommended sentences by more than a year.
The Justice Department has routinely asked judges to apply the enhancement to defendants who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, arguing that the session of Congress that day — meant to count electoral votes and certify the results of the 2020 election — should be considered the equivalent of a judicial proceeding.
A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that argument in an appeal brought by Larry Brock, a Jan. 6 defendant who was sentenced last year to a two-year prison term for obstructing Congress’ proceedings. U.S. District Judge John Bates — a George W. Bush appointee — calculated Brock’s sentence by including the enhancement for interfering with “administration of justice.”
The Justice Department is weighing whether to appeal the ruling. An appeal would either send the issue to the full 11-member bench of the appeals court or to the Supreme Court.
The framing is ridiculous here: these people “threatened the transfer of power three years ago.” Granted, I’d take this hyperbole over the nonsense spewed on CNN and MSNBC for weeks following this event. January 6 wasn’t worse than the 9/11 attacks or the American Civil War. We know this because no one cared a month later. This little riot was overblown to hell, where some in the Justice Department patiently waited to weaponize it to indict a former president to prevent him from running again.
It provided another hook from which a hyper-partisan Justice Department could target Americans whom they hated out of political animus. Hundreds were arrested, charged, and sentenced to jail. Now, we know a great many of those prison sentences were bogus. The FBI can find these people, but the pipe bomber remains the political D.B. Cooper for the DOJ.