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Democracy is saved! Jan 6 protester may receive two-month sentence for ‘unlawful parading’

August 7, 2021 | | Print Article

The Department of Justice is seeking to charge Robert Reeder, who was one of the Jan. 6 protesters, with “unlawful parading” and slap him with a two-month prison sentence for daring to enter the U.S. Capitol building.

The DOJ is claiming that the sentence is justified because Reeder won’t admit what he did was wrong and remains proud of his participation in the riot. Reeder pleaded guilty in June to one misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. That charge carries a maximum sentence of up to six months in prison. He has also agreed to pay $500 in restitution to the government.

During Reeder’s plea hearing on June 23, his attorney, Robert Bonsib, argued that his client didn’t force his way into the Capitol and “did not realize he couldn’t enter.” A Justice Department attorney responded, “I think being teargassed was an indication that people were not welcome in the Capitol at that time.”

NBC4 reporter Scott MacFarlane tweeted on the charge, “OK… small breakthrough here. US Justice Dept is requesting 2-month prison sentence for one of the (growing number) of Jan 6 defendants who are pleading guilty to the lower-level misdemeanor of ‘unlawful parading’ Robert Reeder of Maryland.”

McFarlane told MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House” anchor Nicolle Wallace about the development.

“He is pleading guilty to the misdemeanor we’ve seen so many others plea to so far: unlawful picketing and parading. Before his case, everybody that pleaded guilty has avoided prison, but today the feds recommended two months prison time for him for a few reasons,” he explained. “They said he seemed proud of what he did January 6th, even after the insurrection, and it seems like the feds have had enough, Nicolle. They said in their sentencing memo there has to be a message of deterrence to prevent future mobs and future insurrections.”

(Video Credit: MSNBC)

The DOJ filed their sentencing memorandum against Reeder on Friday, according to WSUA9. They asked U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan to sentence him to two months of incarceration. In the filing, they claim that Reeder’s insistence that he didn’t know he couldn’t enter the building is “divorced from reality” and evidence that he hasn’t fully accepted responsibility for his actions on January 6.

“Although the Defendant has pleaded guilty to Parading in the Capitol he appears to be proud of his participation in the attack on the United States Capitol —a violent attack that forced an interruption of the certification of the 2020 Electoral College vote count, threatened the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 Presidential election, injured more than one hundred law enforcement officers, and resulted in more than a million dollars’ worth of property damage,” the filing contends.

“Indeed, the Defendant was so proud of his participation in the riot that he recorded it for the world to see – to see him chant ‘Fight for Trump’ as he scaled the steps of the Capitol and headed toward the mob entering the building; to see him breach the Capitol twice; to stand by and videotape an officer being assaulted; and to hear him brag that he ‘battle[d] the police.’ For the Defendant, these unlawful acts were a source of pride and accomplishment. For the nation, it was a permanent source of shame and sorrow,” the DOJ claimed.

Reeder will be the first to serve time under this charge if it sticks and it could set a sentencing precedent.

Reeder was employed by the Transportation Security Administration and has since allegedly lost his security clearance. The TSA claims they have no record of him ever working for the agency.

He is scheduled to appear before Judge Hogan for sentencing on August 18 at 2 p.m.

The charges were mocked on social media:

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Terresa Monroe-Hamilton
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