A D.C. federal court judge called out Republican lawmakers who have downplayed the violence of the deadly Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6 while handing out the first sentence for a rioter involved in the attack.
Anna Morgan-Lloyd, a 49-year-old woman from Indiana, pleaded guilty for trespassing the Capitol. She apologized to the court for entering the building for about 10 minutes, and expressed shame over how her visit to Washington to hear then-President Trump speak at a “Stop the Steal rally” devolved into “a savage display of violence,” according to the New York Times.
“I would have never been there if I had known it would turn out that way,” Morgan-Lloyd said, according to the Times.
Judge Royce Lambert sentenced Morgan-Lloyd to probation, avoiding prison. Morgan-Lloyd also agreed to pay a fine of $500.
During the hearing, Lamberth issued a scathing rebuke towards Republican lawmakers who have downplayed the severity of the violence that occurred while the Capitol was breached on Jan. 6.
Without mentioning names, Lamberth took aim at the “utter nonsense” that some Republican lawmakers and right-wing figures have pushed in the aftermath of the deadly Capitol insurrection.
“I don’t know what planet they were on. Millions of people saw Jan. 6,” Lamberth said, referring to Republican lawmakers who downplayed the Capitol attack, according to the New York Times.
Lamberth called the whitewashing of the Capitol insurrection by Republican lawmakers “utter nonsense” and appeared to excoriate Rep. Andrew Clyde’s (R-GA) troubling attempt at characterizing the mob that breached the building as tourists, according to the Times and CNN.
CNN reported that Lamberth said that Morgan-Lloyd avoided time in prison because she was not part of the violence during the Capitol the Capitol attack, and that she had condemned those who breached the Capitol. Lamberth made clear that probation is not guaranteed for other defendants.
“Some of these defendants are not going to do what you did. They’re not going to say they did anything wrong. They, to this day, would still participate in the demonstration,” Lamberth said, according to CNN. “… I don’t want to create the impression that probation is the automatic outcome here, because it’s not going to be.”
Morgan-Lloyd’s sentencing comes the same day two other defendants involved in the Capitol attack pleaded guilty at separate hearings.
Graydon Young, one of the alleged conspirators, reached a plea deal after admitting to conspiring to breach the Capitol as a member of the Oath Keepers, a right-wing extremist group. Young agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and faces an estimated 63 to 78 months in prison.
Robert Reeder, a Maryland resident, also pleaded guilty after acknowledging that he committed a misdemeanor and disorderly conduct by breaching the Capitol. Reeder entered the building after chanting, “Fight for Trump!” Reeder faces up to six months in prison.
