photo of a man sitting inside a jail cell by Ron Lach on Pexels
Those who attacked their own nation’s capitol failed to consider the consequences for doing so. This is Part Two.
On January 6, 2021, a mob of Donald Trump supporters staged an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building. The Guardian reported that people stormed the chambers of the House and Senate while the Electoral College votes were being tallied.
West Virginia State Lawmaker Derrick Evans
January 8, 2021: CNN Poltics posted: “West Virginia lawmaker Derrick Evans faces federal charges in Capitol siege”. It was written by Erin Donaghue.
A West Virginia state lawmaker who filmed himself storming into the U.S. Capitol along with a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump is now facing federal charges, the U.S. District Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia said Friday.
West Virginia State Delegate Derrick Evans is charged with entering a restricted area, Ken Kohl, principal assistant U.S. Attorney for D.C., said on a press call.
Evans is among 15 people who have been charged at the federal level so far, including an Arkansas man who was photographed with his feet up on desk in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and another man found with 11 Molotov cocktails along with an assault rifle and two handguns in his Alabama-registered truck. The U.S. Attorney’s office has charged 40 others in D.C. Superior Court, officials say.
Evans, a newly elected Republican lawmaker, is facing bipartisan calls for his resignation. But Evans, lawyer told CNBC affiliate WVNS-TV that he would not step down and he “committed no criminal act that day.”
The video Evans posted to social media Wednesday showed him yelling “We’re here. We’re here. Derrick Evans is in the Capitol.”
In a criminal complaint released Friday, an FBI agent wrote he identified Evans as the person in the live-streamed video by comparing the voice to the lawmaker’s voice in a campaign video. In addition, the agent wrote “Evans identifies himself by first and last name in the video recording the offense.”
At the beginning of the video, according to the complaint, Evans is seen with a crowd outside a closed 12-foot door yelling “Open the door!” and “Our house!” before the crowd is able to pry it open. Evans is seen entering the building with the crowd, yelling, “We’re in!” and “Let’s go, keep it moving, baby!”
Once inside, according to the complaint, Evans is seen apparently fist-bumping a Capitol police officer and saying, “We still respect you, all right?” He later yells, “No vandalizing property!”
The complaint says on January 6, Evans posted a video of himself in a crowd outside the Capitol saying, “They’re making an announcement right now saying that if Pence betrays us, you better get your mind right because we are storming that building.” He then laughs and says, “I’m just the messenger, so don’t be hating on me. I’m just telling you what I’m hearing right now on the ground.”
In a Facebook statement, Evans later said he recorded the events on Wednesday, “as an independent member of the media to film history.” He said he did not have negative interactions with law enforcement of engage in property destruction.
Evans’s lawyer, John Brian, told The Associated Press said he hadn’t seen the complaint against Evens and couldn’t comment. A reporter for television station WSAZ posted video of Evans being taking into custody outside a home.
The Republican speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates, Roger Hanshaw, condemned the assault on the Capitol in a Wednesday statement and said Evans “will need to answer to his constituents and colleagues.”
“While free speech and peaceful protests are a core value of American society, storming government buildings and participating in a violent intentional disruption of one of our nation’s most fundamental political institutions is a crime that should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Hanshaw wrote.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Steven D’Antuono, assistant director in charge of the FBI Washington field office, said investigators are combining through tips, social media and video to identify more suspects in Wednesday’s siege.
The FBI and the Washington Metropolitan Police Department have released a series of photos of people who stormed the Capitol and asked the public to contact them with any information. D’Antuono thanked the public to contact them with any information. D’Antuono thanked the public for tips that have already been submitted and vowed, “Make no mistake, our work here is not done.”
“Just because you’ve left the D.C. region, you can still expect a knock on your door if we find out you were part of the criminal activity at the Capitol,” D’Antuono said.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, U.S Attorney for the District of Columbia Michael Sherwin said “all options were on the table,” when it comes to considering more serious riot of sedition-related charges for those arrested and anyone else who may have been involved with planning the attack.
When asked whether he would be examining the role of President Trump’s comments to his supporters prior to the assault, Sherwin repeated: “We’re looking at all actors here and anyone that had a role, and if the evidence fits the elements of a crime, they’re going to be charged.
January 9, 2021: The Department of Justice U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Columbia posted: “Three Men Charged in Connection with Events At U.S. Capitol.”
Derrick Evans, 35, of West Virginia, was charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol Grounds. Evans was taken into custody Friday.
It is alleged that on Jan. 6, 2021, Evans, a recently elected member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, streamed live to his Facebook page a video of himself joining and encouraging a crowd of unlawfully entering the U.S. Capitol. In the video, Evans is allegedly seen crossing the threshold of the doorway into the Capitol and shouting “We’re in, we’re in! Derrick Evans is in the Capitol!..
January 9, 2020: Derrick Evans wrote a very brief resignation letter. It was written to The Honorable Jim Justice, Governor, State of West Virginia.
Dear Governor Justice,
I hereby resign as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, effective immediately.
Sincerely,
Delegate Derrick Evans — 19th District
January 9, 2021: (Updated on Jan. 27, 2021) WVRF.com reported: “WV Delegate Derrick Evans announces resignation from House of Delegates”
Delegate Derrick Evans, R-Wayne, today announced his resignation from the West Virginia House of Delegates, effective immediately.
“The past few days have certainly been a difficult time for my family, colleagues and myself, so I feel it’s best at this point to resign my seat in the House and focus on my personal situation and those I love” Delegate Evans said.
“I take full responsibility for my actions, and deeply regret any hurt, pain or embarrassment I may have caused my family, friends, constituents and fellow West Virginians. I hope this action I take today can remove any cloud of distraction from the state Legislature, so my colleagues can get to work in earnest building a brighter future for our state. And more importantly, I hope it helps to begin the healing process, so. we can move forward and come together as ‘One Nation, Under God.'”
January 9, 2021: BuzzFeed News reported: “A West Virginia Republican Lawmaker Who Livestreamed Himself Storming The Capitol Has Resigned.”
A West Virginia lawmaker who livestreamed himself storming the US Capitol resigned on Saturday after federal charges against him were announced.
In his one-sentence letter to the governor, Derrick Evans, who was recently elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates, said he resigned effective immediately.
In a statement about his resignation, Evans described the past few says as “a difficult time” for his family, colleagues, and himself.
“I feel it’s best at this point to resign my seat in the House and focus on my personal situation and those I love,” he said. “I take full responsibility for my actions, and deeply regret any hurt, pain or embarrassment I may have caused my family, friends, constituents and fellow West Virginians.”
His resignation came shortly after the Department of Justice announced that he is being charged with one count if knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Evans was taken into custody Friday, the department said.
In a now-deleted livestream on his Facebook, Evans is seen crossing the threshold of the doorway into the US Capitol and shouting, “We’re in, we’re in! Derrick Evans is in the Capitol!”
In the criminal complaint affidavit, prosecutors listed memes that Evans posted online as “potentially relevant” to his motive and intent, including one with the text “TAKE AMERICA BACK. BE THERE. WILL BE WILD. D.C. JANUARY 6, 2021”
The affidavit also stated that prior to his livestream, Evans posted videos on Facebook of the crowd outside the Capitol building. In one of the video, he says, “They’re making an announcement right now saying if Pence betrays us you better get your mind right because we’re storming the building,” then laughs and adds, “I’m just the messenger.”
His Facebook account has since been removed.
On Thursday, his attorney John Bryan said Evans would not be resigning from public office and maintained that his client was innocent until proven guilty.
“He committed no criminal act that day,” said Bryan in a statement. “To the contrary, he was exercising his constitutionally protected rights to engage in peaceful protest and to film the events which were unfolding.
Bryan could not be immediately reached for comment.
The Guy Who Threw A Fire Extinguisher at Police Officers
January 14, 2021: The Wall Street Journal posted on their live blog a mini article titled: “Man Who Allegedly Threw Fire Extinguisher At Police Arrested On Federal Charges”.
A retired firefighter from Pennsylvania was arrested Thursday for allegedly throwing a fire extinguisher that hit three police officers at the pro-Trump riot at the Capitol as captured on video, U.S. officials said.
Robert Sanford of Chester, Pa., faces three felony charges including assaulting a police officer after he was allegedly identified as the person who lobbed a fire extinguisher on the west side of the Capitol, at around 2:30 pm, as the mob crashed past a thin line of Capitol police officers and stormed towards the building in Jan. 6.
In an affidavit filed in connection with Mr. Sanford’s arrest, an FBI special agent described the mob as “insurrectionists,” The video was shot from an elevated position and showed an area of the Capitol with a large group of police officers surrounded on at least three sides by a group of insurrectionists,” the statement of facts said. It also described the object hitting all three officers in the head, including one who was not wearing a helmet.
Around the same time, a radio dispatch captured by OpenMHZ, a platform that records radio chatter from law enforcement and life-safety services agencies, relayed an emergency code: “There is a 10-33 at the Capitol building. It has been breached.” The 10-30 code signifies an emergency in which an officer needs assistance.
The extinguisher that Mr. Sanford allegedly threw is separate from the one that killed Officer Brian Sicknick, who was also struck in the head with a fire extinguisher during the unrest and died from his wounds, officials said.
One of the officers who was hit, William Young, was evaluated at a hospital and cleared to return to duty, the charging document said. A friend of Mr. Sanford’s tipped off the FBI to his involvement, the document said, adding that he was around 55-years old and had recently retired from the Chester Fire Department.
The tipster relayed to the FBI in an interview that Mr. Sanford had told his friend that he had traveled to the White House and listened to President Trump’s speech “and then had followed the President’s instructions and gone to the Capitol,” the statement said.
Law-enforcement officers on Capitol grounds were targeted by the crowd with a variety of makeshift weapons, including extinguishers and flags.
Dispatches captured by OpenMHZ caught several instances of officers injured in the melee.
“Multiple officers injured at the Capitol, west side,” one dispatch says around 1:20 p.m. Another at about 2:05 p.m. relays: “Saying that they have an officer down, hit in the head.”
The charges against Mr. Sanford, who couldn’t immediately be reached for comment, come as prosecutors have filed dozens of cases against the most visible participants in the riot, many of whose efforts were widely broadcast on social media. Neighbors and others who recognized the participants have also provided the Federal Bureau of Investigation with tips about their identities, according to court documents.
Mr. Sanford faces charges of using a deadly weapon in a restricted area, which carries a potential 10 year prison term, disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and obstructing law enforcement.
December 17, 2021: US Capitol rioter gets 5 years in jail after throwing a fire extinguisher at police (CNN) reported. It was written by Hannah Rabinowitz.
A Florida man who enthusiastically attacked police at the US Capitol on January 6 with a fire extinguisher, a wooden plank and a pole was sentenced to more than five years in prison on Friday, the longest sentence for a Capitol rioter thus far.
Robert Scott Palmer is the first person to be sentenced for the felony of assaulting an officer with a dangerous weapon. His 63-month sentence could set a benchmark for the more than 140 others who face the same charge.
“Every day we are hearing about sports of antidemocratic factions, people plotting potential violence in 2024,” District Judge Tanya Chutkan said as the handed down the sentence. “It has to be made clear that trying to stop the peaceful transition of power, assaulting law enforcement, is going to be met with certain punishment. Not staying at home, not watching Netflix, not doing what you were doing before you got arrested.”
Palmer was first publicly identified by online sleuths, who tracked him down through pictures and video of Palmer in an American flag jacket brawling outside the Capitol. According to his plea agreement, Palmer sprayed a fire extinguisher at a line of police and twice threw the empty canister. When he refused to back day, Palmer was shot in the stomach with a rubber bullet.
“I wonder if the people who are usually before me,” Chutkan said of Black and minority defendants she presides over, “if they had tried to storm the Capitol that day, would have been met with rubber bullets. I suspect not.”
Chutkan, an appointee of former President Barack Obama and former public defender, has emerged as perhaps the harshest judge for January 6 defendants. Seven cases in front of her have reached sentencing, and all seven have receive jail time from 14 days to more than five years behind bars.
During the hearing, Palmer said that he saw TV host Rachel Maddow do a segment about his case on MSNBC and was “horrified, absolutely devastated to see myself on there. Just to see the coldness and the calculation going up those steps with the fire extinguisher to spray those officers.”
Palmer also said in a letter to the judge that he now realizes former President Donald Trump “lied” to supporters about the election.
“They kept spitting out the false narrative about a stolen election and how it was ‘our duty’ to stand up to tyranny,” Palmer wrote. “Little did I realize that they were the tyrannical ones desperate to hold onto power at any cost even by creating the chaos we know would happen with such rhetoric.”
April 11, 2023: United States Attorney’s Office District of Columbia posted: Pennsylvania Man Sentenced for Assaulting Officers With a Dangerous Weapon During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach
A Pennsylvania man was sentenced today for assaulting law enforcement officers with a dangerous weapon during the breach of the U.S. Capitol and was sentenced Tuesday to more than four years in prison.
Robert Sanford Jr., 57, a retired firefighter from Chester, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to 52 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, $2,000 restitution to the Architect of the Capitol and $3,798 in restitution to the medical expenses of the U.S. Capitol Police officer he injured. Sanford pleaded guilty on September 26, 2022, in the District of Columbia, to assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon.
According to the court documents, on January 6, 2021, Sanford attended a rally at the Elilpse and then walked to the U.S. Capitol grounds, joining others who were gathered there illegally. At about 2:30 p.m, he was part of a group on the Lower West Terrace. While there, he threw a fire extinguisher at a group of U.S. Capitol Police officers, striking three of them in the head. He also threw a traffic cone in the direction of the officer. He screamed in the direction of officers that they were “traitors.”
Sanford was arrested on Jan. 14, 2021.
This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
The case was investigated yesterday the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the U.S. Capitol Police.
In the 27 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,000 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 320 individuals with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.
April 11, 2023: “Man who threw fire extinguisher at officers on Jan 6 sentenced to 52 months in prison” (The Hill) It was written by Lauren Sforza.
A Pennsylvania man who threw a fire extinguisher at police officers during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol was sentenced Tuesday to more than four years in prison.
Robert Sanford, 57, was sentenced to 52 months behind bars, followed by 36 months of supervised release. He pleaded guilty in September to assaulting officers with a dangerous weapon during the Jan. 6 insurrection.
According to the Justice Department, Sanford — who is a retired firefighter — was on Capitol grounds that day as part of a group on the Lower West Terrace, where he threw a fire extinguisher at a group of Capitol Police and struck three of them in the head. He also threw a traffic cone aimed at the officers and yelled that they were “traitors,” according to the department.
Sanford was arrested on Jan 14, 2021, just a little over a week after the attacks on the Capitol, after he turned himself in to authorities.
Federal prosecutors initially wanted a prison sentence of up to 71 months — almost five years — for Sanford.
Prosecutors said in their sentencing memo that one of the officers sustained swelling and a bump on their head after being hit with the fire extinguisher, while another got a medical examination from a hospital but did not report further injuries.
Sanford’s attorney, Andrew Stewart, argued in his memo that the retired firefighter should only be sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison followed by 12 months of at-home confinement, which could then be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. He also argued that the victims hit by the fire extinguisher did not sustain “significant” enough injures to warrant a sentencing enhancement for causing bodily injury.
Stewart also noted that Sanford has been working with an individual who specializes in “cult deprogramming” to help him understand why his beliefs led him to the actions he took on Jan. 6. He also claimed that his client is “deeply sorry” for his actions in the memo, which was filed earlier this month.
“During this process, Mr. Sanford was confronted with facts about the “stolen election” conspiracy theory among other and how psychological manipulation is used to indoctrinate the followers of a conspiracy,” Stewart wrote in the memo. “Mr Sanford learned how mental health problems, whether diagnosed or not, cause isolation which, when paired with belief in a conspiracy, gradually cause more isolation.”
December 17, 2021: “US Capitol rioter gets 5 years in jail after throwing fire extinguisher at police” (CNN Politics) It was written by Hannah Rabinowitz.
A Florida man who enthusiastically attacked police at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 with a fire extinguisher, a wooden plank, and a pole was sentenced to more than five years in prison on Friday, he longest sentence for a Capitol riot thus far.
Robert Scott Palmer is the first person to be sentenced for the felony of assaulting an officer with a dangerous weapon. His 63-month sentence could set a benchmark for the more than 140 others who face the same charge.
“Every day we are hearing about reports of antidemocratic factions, people plotting potential violence in 2024,” District Judge Tanya Chutkan said as she handed down the sentence. “It has to be made clear that trying to stop the peaceful transition of power, assaulting law enforcement, is going to be met with certain punishment. Not staying at home, not watching Netflix, not doing what you were doing before you got arrested.”
Palmer was first publicly identified by online sleuths, who tracked him down through pictures and video of Palmer in an American flag jacket brawling outside the Capitol. According to his plea agreement, Palmer sprayed a fire extinguisher at a line of police and twice threw the empty canister. When he refused to back down, Palmer was shot in the stomach with a rubber bullet.
“I wonder if the people who are usually before me,” Chutkan said of Black and minority defendants she presides over, “if they had tried to Storm the Capitol that day, would they have been met with rubber bullets. I suspect not.”
Chutkan, an appointee of former President Barack Obama and former public defender, has emerged as perhaps the harshest judge for January 6 defendants. Seven cases in front of her have reached sentencing, and all seven have received jail time ranging from 14 days to more than five years behind bars.
During the hearing, Palmer said that he saw TV host Rachael Maddow do a segment about his case on MSNBC and was “horrified, absolutely devastated to see myself on there. Just to see the coldness and calculation going up the steps with the fire extinguisher to spray those officers.”
Palmer also said in a letter to the judge that he now realizes former President Donald Trump “lied” to supporters about the election.
“They kept spitting out the false narrative about a stolen election and how it was ‘our duty’ to stand up to tyranny,” Palmer wrote. “Little did I realize they were the tyrannical ones desperate to hold onto power at any cost even by crating the chaos they knew would happen with such rhetoric.”
December 17, 2021: United States Attorney’s Office District of Columbia posted: “Florida Man Sentenced To 63 Months in Prison for Assaulting Law Enforcement During Capitol Breach”
Defendant Threw Plank and Sprayed Fire Extinguisher at Officers Attempting to Secure Lower West Terrace
Robert Scott Palmer, of Largo, Florida, was sentenced to 63 months in prison for assaulting law enforcement with dangerous weapons during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, which disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the presidential election.
Palmer is the first Jan. 6 defendant to be sentenced on the charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers using a dangerous or deadly weapon. This was the longest sentence imposed to date in the investigation into the events of Jan. 6.
According to court documents, Palmer, 54, of Largo, Florida, was among rioters outside the U.S. Capitol on the afternoon of Jan. 6. At approximately 4:53 p.m., he was standing near the Archway leading from the Lower West Terrace to the interior of the Capitol.
While there, he threw a wooden plank at U.S. Capitol Police and Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department officers protecting the Lower West Terrace entrance. Then, approximately two minutes later, he was at the front line of rioters confronting the officers located within the Lower West Terrace Archway. At this time, Palmer sprayed the contents of a fire extinguisher at the officers until it was empty. He then threw the fire extinguisher at the officers.
Although no specific injury was tied to this conduct, based on the size and weight of the plank and fire extinguisher, and the speed and force with which Palmer threw them, the objects were capable of inflicting serious bodily injury.
Palmer was arrested in Florida on March 17. He pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia on Oct. 4, 2021, to assaulting, resisting or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon. In addition to the prison term, Judge Tanya S. Chutkan ordered him to pay $2,000 in restitution. He must also serve a period of three years of supervised release and following completion of his prison term.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Tampa and Washington Field Offices, with assistance from the U.S. Capitol Police and Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. The FBI’s Washington Field Offices, with assistance from the U.S Capitol Police and Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. The FBI’s Washington Field Office identified Palmer as #246 in its seeking information photos.
In the 11 months since Jan. 6, more than 700 individuals have been arrested in nearly 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol including over 220 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.
December 17, 2021: “Man who admitted he assaulted officers with a fire extinguisher on January 6 is sentenced to 63 months” (CBS News) It was written by Robert Legare.
Robert Scott Palmer, a Florida man who admitted he assaulted officers with a wooden plank and a fire extinguisher during the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, was sentenced to 63 months in prison on Friday.
This is the harshest sentence handed down in the investigation into the mob that forced Congress to temporarily halt its counting of the 2020 presidential election Electoral College votes.
“I’m so ashamed that I was part of it. Very, very ashamed,” Palmer emotionally told Judge Tanya Chutkan, explaining that from jail, he watched a segment on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show about his conduct that made him, “horrified…absolutely devastated.”
Palmer, who was arrested in March and pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting officers in October, asked Chutkan to sentence hime to no more than two years in prison for his actions on January 6, a request she denied.
“I have to make it clear that the actions you engaged in cannot happen again,” the judge told Palmer. “It has to be made clear that trying to violently” overtake the government is “going to be met with absolutely certain punishment.”
As part of his plea agreement, Palmer admitted to throwing “a wooden plane at U.S. Capitol Police and Metropolitan Department officers protecting the Lower West Terrace entrance” of the Capitol during the Capitol breach. He also admitted to spraying “the contents of a fire extinguisher at the officers until it was empty” before throwing the extinguisher in their direction, as written in a Statement of Offense that he signed.
Prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Palmer to 63 months behind bars — the longest prison term formerly requested so far by the government in the ongoing investigation into the January 6 riot.
In their sentencing memorandum, government prosecutors claimed that Palmer was “on the front line of rioters confronting officers.”
“Defendant’s repeated violent assaults on law enforcement for the purpose of overturning a democratic election warrant a significant term of imprisonment,” they wrote.
After assailing officers with the fire extinguisher and fending off pepper spray, Palmer “threw the [wooden] pole like a spear” towards a group of law enforcement attempting to guard the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace before a “non-lethal projectile” was fired at him by officers, their memo described.
The government also said that “no specific injury” has been tied to Palmer’s conduct.
Palmer’s attorney argued in court and in the sentencing memorandum that he has “struggled with depression and substance abuse” and an abusive childhood, which may have contributed to his actions that day.
Chutkan sympathized with Palmer Friday and said that those types of experiences “stay with you.”
The defendant’s son, Robert Scott Palmer Jr., also addressed the court. “I do not in any way condone the actions that took place,” said the son, “While it is severe and unacceptable, it is just a brief moment.”
In their pre-sentencing filings, the defense also tried to say that Palmer’s actions were in part informed by the conduct displayed by former President Donald Trump leading up to the insurrection.
“Mr. Palmer went to the Capitol at the behest of the former President. Like many others who participated in the Capitol riot, Mr. Palmer blindly followed the many figures who falsely but persistently claimed that the election had been stolen from the president,” his legal team wrote, “Those voices, including the voice of the then-president himself, had convinced persons such as Mr. Palmer that the election was fraudulent and they must take action to stop the transition of the presidency.”
“It is relevant to consider that the riot almost surely would not have occurred but for the financing and organization the was conducted by persons unconnected to Mr. Palmer who will likely never be held responsible for their relevant conduct,” the defendant’s memorandum also argued.
Palmer himself also sent a handwritten letter to Chutkan ahead of Friday’s hearing, asking for her mercy and understanding.
“Trump supporters were lied to by those at the time had great power meaning the sitting President,” the letter read in part, “They kept spitting out the false narrative about a stolen election and how it was ‘our duty’ to stand up to tyranny.”
During his plea proceedings, Palmer agreed to allow law enforcement to review his social media accounts and postings around January 6, but since entering that agreement, prosecutors alleged the defendant posted on an online fundraising page that indicated he no longer accepted responsibility for his actions at the Capitol.
Judge Chutkan revealed on Friday that she agreed with this characterization: “He was still denying culpability for the defense,” after pleading guilty. As a result, the judge decided he would not get much credit for accepting responsibility for the crime when calculating the sentence.
“None of us are the worst things we’ve ever done,” the judge told Palmer, whose lawyer revealed his client recently received a COVID-19 vaccine. “I hope you continue to consider other sources of information as you go forward,” Chutkan added.
December 17, 2021: “Largo Capitol rider sentenced to more than 5 years, toughest sentence yet” It was posted by Natalie Weber.
A Largo man who confessed to throwing a wood plank and spraying and hurling a fire extinguisher at police officers during the U.S. Capitol riot Jan. 6 was sentenced to a little over 5 years in federal prison Friday, the longest yet for anyone sentenced for the events of that day.
In October, Robert Scott Palmer pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting, resisting or impeding police officers using a dangerous weapon. In addition to 63 months in prison, he was ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution and also faces 36 months of supervised release after his prison sentence.
United States District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan said she wasn’t punishing Palmer for his political beliefs, but rather the actions he decided to take following the 2020 presidential election. She said that while others also may have disliked the results, they did not all storm the U.S. Capitol.
“The actions you engaged in cannot happen again,” Chutkan told Palmer at his sentencing hearing Friday.
Before his hearing, Palmer drafted a letter to Chutkan, apologizing for his role in the Jan. 6 riot, which sought to subvert the 2020 presidential election results. The letter was attached to the sentencing memo submitted by his defense attorney.
In he letter, Palmer said he had been deceived and manipulated by those in power.
“They kept spitting out the false narrative about a stolen election and how its was ‘our duty’ to stand up to tyranny,” the 54-year-old wrote. “Little did I realize that they were the tyrannical ones, desperate to hold onto power at any cost, even by creating the chaos they knew would happen with such rhetoric.”
Prosecutors said the tone of the letter directly contradicted an online post that Palmer had asked a friend to post a few weeks earlier, soliciting donations for Palmer’s legal fees. Palmer said he was stressed by his incarceration when he drafted that post, and that it was removed and all of the donations were refunded.
According to his plea agreement, Palmer flew to Washington, D.C., to attend a rally in support of former President Donald Trump. Following the rally, he headed toward the Capitol and was seen on the Upper West Terrace around 4 p.m. with other rioters, the agreement said. He was holding a sign that said “Biden is a pedophile.”
Palmer moved to a Lower West Terrace tunnel entrance where he threw a wooden plank and a fire extinguisher at police officers, according to the plea agreement.
At his sentencing hearing Palmer became emotional while addressing the court. He said while he was in jail, he saw a clip of himself on MSNBC, where he was shown attacking police officers during the riot.
“I’m really, really ashamed of what I did,” Palme said during the hearing.
Palmer was identified by internet sleuths, who spotted his “Florida for Trump” at and a jacket patterned after the American flag. He was dubbed “FloridaFlagJacket” by those who saw his photos circulating on social media.
Nearly 700 people have been accused of crimes in the Jan. 6 insurrection. Almost a year later, 75 people in Florida had been arrested in connection with the riot, the most of any state so far.
December 17, 2021: “Florida man who threw plank, extinguisher at police gets longest Capitol riot sentence“
A federal judge sentenced a U.S. Capitol rioter to more than five years in prison on Friday on charges that he threw a wooden plank and a fire extinguisher at police during the Jan. 6 attack on the seat of government.
The Department of Justice said Robert Scott Palmer of Largo, Florida, was sentenced to 63 months for assaulting law enforcement with dangerous weapons during the assault, which took place as Vice President Mike Pence and members of Congress met to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
Palmer is the first Jan. 6 defendant to be sentenced on the charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers using a dangerous or deadly weapon. It is the longest sentence imposed so far in the investigation of the events of Jan. 6.
According to court documents, Palmer, 54, was among rioters outside the Capitol. While there, he threw a plank at Capitol police and Washington police officers. Two minutes later, he sprayed the contents of a fire extinguisher at the officers and then threw it at them.
Palmer was arrested on March 17. He pleaded guilty on Oct. 4 U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan also ordered Palmer to pay $2,000 in restitution, and he must serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.
More than 700 people have been arrested in connection with the assault on the Capitol by supporters of defeated Republican President Donald Trump.
March 19, 2021: HuffPost posted: “Revealed: The Star-Spangled Trumper Filmed Attacking Cops At the Capitol” It was written by Ryan J. Reilly and Jesselyn Cook.
With bright red and white stripes across his body and stars down his sleeves, the man in the American flag jacket and “FLORIDA FOR TRUMP” hat wielded a fire extinguisher while charging the U.S. Capitol on the afternoon of Jan. 6. He shoved his way through the crows of rioters to the police line, then sprayed officers at close range before chucking the emptied canister at them.
By nightfall he himself had been lightly harmed, apparently by a police crowd control munition. He held up his shirt to show off his bruised gut during an interview with a female journalist filming him live as cops pushed the mob back from the Capitol grounds. Then he looked straighter into her livestreaming device and identified himself as Robert Palmer from Clearwater, Florida.
At this point, the man had not only assaulted federal officers before a sea of smartphones while wearing highly distinctive attire, he’d also willingly revealed his own name and hometown on video at the scene of the crime — while still in the same outfit.
This isn’t your typical “Florida Man” story, despite its absurdity. This is the story of a violent insurrectionist who’s still at large — nearly two months later — and one woman who joined the online sleuthing communities crowdsourcing their efforts to bring a Capitol attacker to justice.
Robert Scott Palmer is a white 53-year-old husband and father who runs Son Bright Systems, a cleaning and restoration business. His criminal record includes being sentenced on charges of battery and felony fraud.
HuffPost verified his identity through a search of public records and social media accounts associated with Palmer, after receiving a tip from Amy, a woman living in a rural area out west who in her free time joined the #SeditionHunters network, an online sleuthing community seeking to identify the hundreds of Trump supporters who rioted who rioted at the Capitol. (Amy is a pseudonym she chose to protect her privacy.)
Reached by phone late Thursday afternoon, Palmer confirmed he was at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and gave the livestream interview. He claimed that he’d done nothing to justify being struck with the police munition, and that the Biden administration was trying to “vilify the patriots” who were involved in the riot.
“I’m just going about it and letting them make mistakes that they want and ruing the country as they want, and I’m just trying to live my life right now,” he said, adding that the jacket he wore “wasn’t anything I had made special — [I] just bought it in a store.”
Palmer seemed to grow increasingly anxious as the call continued.
“I’m just going to leave it like that. I’m not getting myself any — not deeper, ’cause I didn’t do anything wrong — but I’m not involving myself anymore,” he said. He hung up when HuffPost asked him about the fire extinguisher.
While Palmer was storming the Capitol in January, Amy was home sick, thousands of miles away. She had contracted COVID-19 and was getting restless while recovering in isolation. After watching in horror as the insurrection unfolded, she decided to use some of her time in quarantine poring over footage from the attack and trying to track down rioters.
Using the Twitter handle @CountryOvParty, she worked with the group of @capitolhunters as they tried to mine through a seemingly endless flow of photos and videos, assigning catchy hashtags to various persons of interest to bring some order to the chaos.
“The more that I watched [from the insurrection] the more that I felt like I had lost control over what this country was supposed to be,” said Amy, who is a federal employee. “Spending that time searching was a way to regain control of the situation for me.”
The FBI is still hunting down the insurrectionists who flooded the Capitol because they believed former President Donald Trump’s false claims about mass voter fraud and supported his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. It’s a monumental task.
The unprecedented investigation involves hundreds of suspect, hundreds of thousands of tips and millions of pieces of evidence. Keeping it organized and figuring out which suspects the bureau should prioritize is an overwhelming logistical nightmare that few entities — even the nation’s premier law enforcement organization — are equipped to handle.
The FBI needs the public’s help, and plenty of citizen sleuths are ready to pitch in. But as their investigations move at internet speed, some members of the crowdsourced effort are getting a bit flustered when they send in solid tips, don’t hear anything back from the bureau, and have to wonder whether the information they provided got into the right hands.
Amy kept going. She went through every single clip pulled from the right-wing social media site Parler, which were posted and published by ProPublica. She kept going through videos and photos of the attack. Soon #FloridaFlagJacket drew Amy’s attention. “I got locked onto this guy and the jacket, because the jacket is so unique,” she recalled.
Palmer wasn’t very incognito. His already distinctive jacket was embroidered with “TRUMP” on the front and back, and his “FLORIDA FOR TRUMP” hat offered a pretty strong hint about his home state. He was wearing a “MASKING UNDER PROTEST” mask, a unique item that Amy learned was sold on a “Patriot’s Cave” website and can be found on another site called “American Patriot Depot.”
The pieces were starting to come together. When someone else in the sleuthing community found a video of Palmer later that night, it was the final straw.
“Someone else found the YouTube clip where he said his name, and that was the dealbreaker,” she said. She sent in another tip to the FBI…
Palmer is now publicly on the FBI’s radar, though not by name. Three photos of him are featured in on the bureau’s Capitol violence page, where he’s listed only as “#246 – AFO [Assault On Federal Officer].” But the images didn’t appear there until nearly a month after Amy had already tipped off the FBI about his identity…
…”One of the downsides is you don’t know if anybody ever sees what you sent,” Amy said. But she acknowledged the enormous sea of information the bureau is trying to sort through. “If I was on the other end getting those tips, I’d be frustrated,” she added…
…On Palmer’s Facebook page, he proudly displays his love for Trump and embrace of Trump’s voter fraud conspiracy theories. It’s littered with posts spreading false information about Biden’s election, denigrating the Black Lives Matter movement and downplaying the need for COVID-19 safety protocols. A video Palmer uploaded in December appears to show him cheering on a parade of Proud Boys marching down the street in D.C.
After the Capitol attack, Palmer posted a clip of Bill O’Reiley suggesting that Trump wasn’t responsible for inciting the violence at the Capitol, which Palmer, of course, took part in. He posted a Dan Bongino video complaining about Parler going down. And his experience at the Capitol didn’t dissuade him from his beliefs that the election was stolen…
Now Amy, whose COVID-19 symptoms have gone away, is just waiting for another notification: one that lets her know the FBI finally came knocking on Palmer’s door.
The Former Occupational Therapist Woman
January 25, 2021: WTOL 11 updated their article titled: “Former Cleveland schools charged for alleged role in riot at the U.S. Capitol. It was written by Dave “Dino” DeNatale, Phil Trexler and Will Ujek.
A former occupational therapist for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District has been charged for her role in the riots and breach at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. last week.
According to documents filed in the United States District Court, 49-year-old Christine Priola faces charges of knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and unlawful activities on Capitol grounds.
Priola was freed on a $20,000 personal bond following her initial court appearance Thursday afternoon, via Zoom in U.S. District Court in Cleveland. She was ordered to be placed on electronic monitoring in her home and is not permitted to travel.
She only uttered “Yes, your honor” during the 20 minute hearing. She faces up to two years in prison, if convicted. Two federal public defenders were assigned to Priola, who quit her job a day after the riots.
Priola was arrested by FBI agents at her house on Thursday morning. She is currently in the custody of U.S. Marshals and is scheduled to appear for a hearing in front of US Federal Magistrate William Baughman on Thursday afternoon.
Last Friday, 3News cameras spotted authorities from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, and Willoughby Police Department taking several file boxes and a large plastic bag of unknown materials from Priola’s Lake County house. Officials also searched the home’s garage and vehicles before leaving the scene around 12:30 a.m. Saturday.
Priola resigned from her position with the CMSD last Thursday. In her resignation letter, she cited her desire to switch career paths to focus on human trafficking and pedophilia and not wanting to take a COVID-19 vaccine in order to return to in-person school. The letter came only after social media users linked her to photos taken of a violent mob loyal to President Donald Trump that stormed the U.S. Capitol and forced lawmakers into hiding in an attempt to overturn the presidential election.
Priola filed her resignation, which includes the conspiratorial beliefs, Thursday to the Human Resources Department for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Occupational therapists in the district generally work with special needs students.
In her letter, Priola also she did not support paying union dues that she claims are used to “fund people and groups that support the killing of unborn children.”
“Questions raised today about a former CMSD employee’s alleged involvement in the riots at the U.S. Capitol this week have also raised questions about the District’s position on such behaviors,” district spokesman Rosann Canfora said in an email Friday.
“While CMSD deeply believes in the right of any individual to peacefully protest, as many did on the Capitol plaza on Wednesday afternoon, the District deeply condemns the actions of those involved in the riots inside the Capitol and on Capitol grounds. The right of peaceful protest, as protected by the first amendment, is a foundation of our democracy. The forcible takeover and willful destruction of our government is not.”
The union released a statement from Cleveland Teachers Union President Shari Obreski.
“The Cleveland Teachers Union strongly condemns the violent attack on our democratic institutions that occurred this week. Rioters who broke the law should be held fully account fully accountable. Our national affiliate has called for the immediate removal of President Trump for instigating this assault on our country.
“We are aware of reports of Cleveland teachers who engaged in rioting in the Capitol. We take these allegations very seriously and if true, they must be held accountable.
“While we support the right to a peaceful protest, what happened inside the Capitol on Wednesday was not a protest, it was an insurrection. It is the exact opposite of what we teach our students. Anyone who participated must bear the very serious consequences of their actions.”
July 26, 2022: NBC News reported: “Former Ohio school employee seen in the Senate Chamber on Jan. 6 pleads guilty” It was written by Phil Helsel.
A former Ohio school district employee who entered the Senate Chambers during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol pleaded guilty to a felony Tuesday that could result in over a year in prison, according to prosecutors and court documents.
A judge will determine the sentence for Christine Priola, 50, but a plea agreement says estimated sentence guidelines range is between 15 and 21 months.
Priola, of Willoughby, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said in a statement.
She was photographed in the Senate chambers on Jan. 6, 2021, after it was evacuated following the attack on the Capitol by a mob of supporters then-President Donald Trump.
An attorney for Priola did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Wednesday.
Sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 28. The charge she pleaded guilty to carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
The mob of Trump supporters attacked the Capitol as Congress was formerly counting the electoral votes in the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost. Congress later returned and concluded the count hours later.
Capitol police offers were beaten and sprayed with chemical irritants during the mayhem, and the rampage caused more than $1.4 million in damages, officials said.
The violence at the Capitol was preceded by weeks of falsehoods about the 2020 election. Then-Vice President Mike Pence refused to halt the electoral vote counting or to reject states’ votes. Pence has said he had no right to do so.
Priola is not accused of assaulting anyone. She was in the Senate chamber for around 10 minutes, and was photographed near Pence’s desk in the Senate chamber. She had been an occupational therapist with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District but resigned on Jan. 7, 2021.
December 8, 2023: WKYC.com posted: “Former Cleveland schools employee sentenced for Jan. 6 US Capitol riot released early from prison” It was written by Dave DeNatale.
Former Cleveland Metropolitan School District therapist Christine Priola, who was sentenced for her involvement in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riots, was released early from prison.
In an email to 3News, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) says Priola was released from custody on Sept. 5. She had been in community confinement overseen by the FBOP’s Cincinnati Residential Reentry Management (RRM) Office.
In October 2022, Priola was sentenced to 15 months in prison for obstruction of an official proceeding, plus aiding and abetting. She began serving her prison term at the secure female facility inside the Federal Correctional Institute Hazelton in West Virginia one month later.
Priola, a Willoughby resident, wound up serving nine months of her 15-month prison sentence. She had faced a statutory maximum of 20 years behind bars.
According to court documents, Priola was spotted making her way to the U.S. Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021, while carrying a large sign expressing her views before illegally entering the restricted area on the east side of the Capitol building.
After joining the front line of the riot in support of then President Donald Trump, Priola is alleged to have claimed the steps before entering the Capitol Building through the East Rotunda doors. Shortly after the first rioters overcame law enforcement officers guarding the entrance, she went inside and moved to the Senate chamber and entered the restricted floor area.
Inside the chamber, she carried the same sign she was spotted carrying outside. She was in the Senate chamber for about 10 minutes and inside the Capitol Building for approximately 30 minutes.
Priola is also alleged to have deleted her data for photos, videos, chats, and messages from her cellphone from approximately Jan 4 through Jan 7, 2021.
Footage from 2021 showed Priola outside her old Willoughby home, shouting ideologies that align with QAnon conspiracy theories of government child sex trafficking. She said she was forced to sell that home amid the fallout from the riot and moved into her mother’s basement.
Priola was employed by CMSD as an occupational therapist at the time of the riot before resigning one day later. In her resignation letter, she cited her desire to switch career paths to focus on exposing human trafficking and pedophilia and not wanting to take a COVID-19 vaccine in order to return to in-person school. She added that she did not support paying union dues that she claims are used to “fund people and groups that support the killing of unborn children.”
She was arrested one week later.
July 26, 2022: United States Attorney’s Office District of Columbia posted: “Ohio Woman Pleads Guilty to Felony Charge for Actions in Jan. 6 Capitol Breach”
Defendant Illegally Entered Senate Chamber
An Ohio woman pleaded guilty today to a felony charge for her actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Her actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election.
Christine Priola, 50, of Willoughby, Ohio, pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to obstruction of an official proceeding. According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, Priola made her way to the U.S. Capitol grounds, carrying a large sign expressing her views. Once on the grounds, she illegally entered the restricted area on the east side of the Capitol Building.
Priola joined the front lines of the riot, climbed the steps, and entered the Capitol Building through the East Rotunda Doors. She went inside soon after the first rioters overcame law enforcement officers guarding the entrance. She moved to the Senate chamber and entered the restricted floor area. While in the chamber, she carried the sign. She was in the Senate chamber for about 10 minutes. All told, she was inside the Capitol Building for approximately 30 minutes.
Sometime between Jan. 6 and Jan 12, 2021, Priola deleted her cellphone data for photos, videos, chats, and messages from approximately Jan. 4 through Jan 7, 2021. At the time of the riots she was employed with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. She resigned in a letter dated Jan. 7, 2021.
Priola was arrested in Ohio on Jan 14, 2021. She is to be sentenced October 28, 2022. She faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison and potential financial penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Justice Department’s National Security Division are prosecuting the case, with valuable assistance provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio.
The FBI’s Cleveland Field Office investigated the case, with valuable assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service for the Northern District of Ohio, the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the U.S. Capitol Police, and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 18 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 850 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 260 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.