Joshua Black, Jan. 6 rioter, got some good and some not-so-good information Friday. The Alabama man was the first Jan. 6 indictable to reach the Senate floor during the Capitol breach. He was cleared of the most serious federal obstruction charge.
Black claimed that he ran to the Senate floor to “plead Jesus’ blood” and absolve it. He was also found guilty of five other Jan. 6 related charges. Politico reported that Black was convicted of three weapons-related offenses.
Black wasn’t the only Jan. 6-rioter who had a unique stew in his head, I’m sure. But I digress.
Judge Jackson convicted Black of disorderly conduct in a restricted area while armed and dangerous with a weapon, a hunting knife. This is a felony that can lead to a maximum of 10 years imprisonment.
Black posted a YouTube video about the riot, in which he spoke of entering the Capitol and Senate chambers on Jan. 6, according to court documents.
We wanted to get into the building.
Additional information is available at Politico
Jackson stated, prosecutors failed to support the [obstruction of justice] charge with evidence supporting Black’s intent. Jackson stated some evidence suggesting that Black believed that the election was over before he reached Capitol.
Black was captured on footage that was taken by rioters who broke into the Senate. They were looking through Senate papers and took particular interest in a document that mention Sen. Ted Cruz (R. Texas).
Jackson spent considerable time explaining to Black how she believed Black’s knife possession was sufficient to make it a dangerous and deadly weapon. Jackson said that Jackson’s remarks to the FBI and the context of the riot told a completely different story.
Joshua Black will face a May 5, 2023 sentence.
We have extensively covered the Jan. 6 Capitol riot defendants, including former President Donald Trump’s related comments. As I reported in December, Trump said the Jan. 6 defendants have been treated unconstitutionally, which he linked to the “weaponization” of the Justice Department before suggesting the country is “going, communist.”
You have been treated unfairly and unconstitutionally, I believe. It is the weaponization of the Department of Justice. This cannot happen in our country. Our country is not going socialist. They have already eschewed that. They also skipped socialism. We are becoming communists.
This cannot happen again. We must stop it. It is clear that they work hard to bring justice to those in prison and torture.
Trump isn’t exactly a communist but that’s an exaggeration. Nick Arama, a colleague, reported that Trump’s federal public defense claimed that the FBI used a “modern-day broad warrant” to seize the personal data of anyone who was within the area of the Capitol on January 6th. Tara Fish, defense attorney, said that the warrant was “unconstitutionally broad.”
The Washington Post reported in January that 930 Jan.6 defendants had been federally charged. The Washington Post reported that 69 of the 460 felonies defendants have been convicted or sentenced. They were mostly charged with assaulting police officers or obstructing Congress.
Tellingly, judges have gone below prosecutors’ recommendations three-quarters of the time, and below federal sentencing guidelines less than 40 percent of the time.
Just one question: How do I ask this tactfully? What the hell is taking so long?
