Washington, D.C. – A federal judge overseeing criminal cases against individuals who attacked police officers during the January 6 Capitol riot expressed concerns about the potential for another violent incident leading up to or following the 2024 presidential election.
During a sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Rudy Contreras sentenced Jeffrey Sabol, a Colorado geophysicist, to more than five years in federal prison for his role in the riot. Sabol, who believed the election was stolen and that Dominion voting machines were tampered with, expressed “patriotic rage” and claimed to be responding as a “patriot warrior” to a “call to battle” on January 6.
Contreras attributed the attack on the Capitol to former President Donald Trump and his supporters, warning that similar violence could occur if another call to action is made. Sabol, who assaulted officers during the riot, had been held pretrial and has already served the majority of his sentence after being arrested shortly after the attack.
In addition to prison time, Contreras ordered Sabol to pay over $32,000 in restitution and serve three years of supervised release. The judge’s concerns about future violence stem from the belief that Trump and his allies played a key role in instigating the events of January 6.
Many Trump supporters viewed the former president’s tweets and statements as a call to arms, leading them to participate in the Capitol riot. Some defendants in various criminal cases related to January 6 have expressed regret and admitted to being misled, while others have labeled themselves as “idiots” for their actions on that day.
During Sabol’s sentencing, Micki Witthoeft, the mother of deceased rioter Ashli Babbit, attended the hearing and shared Trump’s message of supporting January 6 defendants. The impact of the Capitol riot and the ongoing legal proceedings have led to a deep divide within the Republican Party, with some judges and legal experts raising concerns about the spread of misinformation and falsehoods about the election.
The judiciary in Washington has repeatedly emphasized Trump’s responsibility for the events of January 6, with judges like Amy Berman Jackson and Royce Lamberth condemning the spread of baseless claims and dangerous rhetoric. These statements reflect a broader concern about the potential for further violence and unrest fueled by conspiracy theories and misinformation.