Thread by @ZoeTillman

Hello from Judge Amy Berman Jackson's virtual courtroom, where a plea hearing is about to get underway in the case of Jan. 6 defendant Karl Dresch. More here -->

https://twitter.com/ZoeTillman/status/1422565675541876741

Catching up on filings from yesterday in the meantime, three more plea hearings were added to the calendar for Jan. 6 defendants:
- Scott Fairlamb, which is notable because we haven't had pleas yet in cases involving people charged with assaulting police: s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2046…

- Glenn Croy, which is another misdemeanor-only case (his codefendant Terry Lindsey's case remains pending as of now): s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2048…

- Virginia (Jenny) Spencer, who is also a misdemeanor-only case (her husband and codefendant Christopher Spencer is facing a felony obstruction count, and his case remains live): s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2047…

Karl Dresch's plea hearing is underway. It's in-person (I'm listening remotely, not in the courtroom), so the judge begins by saying people can remove their masks when they speak if they're vaccinated

Dresch is pleading guilty to one misdemeanor for parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. He's going to be sentenced immediately, and since he's been incarcerated since Jan., that'll be it, since the max sentence is 6 mos for that charge

Dresch was indicted on one felony count for obstructing Congress, but that will be dropped along with the other three misdemeanors. He's one of a small proportion of defs who wasn't charged with assault/conspiracy/weapons but ordered to stay in pretrial detention

AUSA Jennifer Blackwell reads the statement of facts that Karl Dresch is agreeing to in pleading guilty. She quotes excerpts from a Facebook post including:: "we the people took back our house ... and now those traitors Know who’s really in charge"

Dresch's plea deal includes a partial cooperation agreement where he'll talk to law enforcement as soon as he's released, either later today or first thing tomorrow, per his lawyer — but before he can go home, the judge makes clear (he also has to share social media content)

The sentencing memos in Dresch's case were already filed under seal, and those will now get unsealed. The judge is now hearing from the govt and defense about what sentence she should hand down (keeping in mind he's already served the max possible, 6 mos)

AUSA Blackwell says that the govt wants to make clear that regardless of the fact Dresch has already spent the max in jail, the govt still believes his conduct at the Capitol would warrant a higher-end sentence

Blackwell argues a six-month sentence (again, keeping in mind Dresch has already served that) would deter others from doing something similar in the future, knowing that jail time is possible even for a misdemeanor infraction

Dresch declines to address the judge

Judge Jackson will now go over sentencing factors, saying she wants to make very clear why she thinks a six-month sentence is appropriate for Dresch even though it's a "forgone conclusion" given his pretrial detention term

Jackson is sending a message to defendants in other misdemeanor-only cases that jail is very much on the table even if they plead to this same low-level charge going forward, depending on conduct before/during/after Jan. 6

Repeating part of the Facebook post that the govt had noted where Dresch talked about being in the Capitol and wrote, "now those traitors Know who’s really in charge," Jackson pauses and says: “So — he’s not your typical tourist”

Jackson hammers home that Dresch spent the past six months in jail because of criminal conduct on Jan. 6 that he's now pleaded guilty to, not political beliefs or support for Trump: "He was not a political prisoner."

Jackson says Dresch is in court not b/c he supported Trump, but b/c he was an "enthusiastic participant" in an effort to subvert the democratic process — she notes millions voted for Trump and didn't heed his call to "descend" on the nation's capital

Dresch placed his trust in Trump, who repaid that trust "by lying to him" about the election, Jackson says

Dresch has the right to vote for anyone he wants, Jackson says, "but so does everyone else — your vote doesn’t count any more than anyone else’s. You dont get to cancel them out and call for a war because you don’t like the result of the election."

Jackson continues: "That’s not patriotism. Patriotism is loyalty to country, loyalty to the Constitution, not loyalty to a single head of state. That’s the tyranny we rejected on July 4, 1776," alluding to Dresch's posts comparing Jan. 6 to July 4

Now that that's all on the record, Jackson formally hands down the expected sentence of six months in jail, which he's already served, so he'll be released (and recall he'll need to talk to law enforcement and give them access to his phone/social media before he can go home)

That's a wrap on Karl Dresch's plea hearing/sentencing. I got a few questions asking about Dresch's reaction to all this, but I'm afraid I'm covering this remotely and it's audio-only