Thread by @JordanOnRecord

#CapitolRiot: Alright, tuning in to the sentencing hearing for Joshua & Jessica Bustle. They both pleaded guilty back in June to one misdemeanor count of parading in a Capitol building. @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

https://twitter.com/JordanOnRecord/status/1422920540143095812

#CapitolRiot: The DOJ is asking for 1 month of home confinement for Joshua and 3 months for Jessica, plus two years of supervised probation for each. Also says it is not asking for a fine in Joshua's case. @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: The DOJ argues Jessica Bustle's posts after the riot – in which she both admitted she "stormed" the Capitol but also tried to downplay what happened – warrant a harsher sentence than the one it's requesting for her husband. @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: DOJ: "We submit that this makes the nature and circumstance of her offense greater than his." Says it also supports a heightened need for deterrence and promotion of "respect for the law." @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: DOJ says the Bustles did get credit for being some of the first defendants to agree to plead guilty and now to be sentenced. @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: Actually, three years of probation each. My apologies.

#CapitolRiot: DOJ references another defendant, Anna Morgan-Lloyd, who received only probation. Says her posts after the riot were "less incendiary" than Jessica Bustle's. @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: Judge Thomas Hogan brings up Anna Morgan-Lloyd's interview w/ Fox News the day after her sentencing. Says he's concerned the courts aren't getting through to defendants about their responsibility.

#CapitolRiot: Joshua Bustle's attorney is now arguing that his client didn't participate in a riot. "This was not a riot, as far as Mr. Bustle is concerned." Judge Hogan points out there were broken windows and doors, alarms going off. Scent of pepper spray. @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: Joshua Bustle's attorney says he "takes particular exception" to his client being described as a "rioter." Says the Bustles "created no dangerous situation of their own action." @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: "If we can separate the word 'riot' from what happened, it was unlawful entry of a building." Judge Hogan asks why the Bustles entered the building. Attorney says "just to see what was going on." Says people were taking photos/videos in a "reporter-like fashion."

#CapitolRiot: Attorney: "To treat Joshua Bustle differently than Anna Morgan-Lloyd would be unjust. The only difference between them is that Anna Morgan-Lloyd was a grandmother." @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: Joshua Bustle's attorney says his client has "paid a substantial price." "They have lost everything in the court of public opinion." Says he's lost his job. Is having to move to South Carolina to start over. @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: In the Anna Morgan-Lloyd sentencing, Judge Royce C. Lamberth made a point of saying he wasn't setting a precedent or expectation of probation-only for January 6 defendants. But that's what Joshua Bustle's attorney is trying to argue. @wusa9 wusa9.com/article/news/n…

#CapitolRiot: DOJ: "The United States thinks the use of the term 'riot' is completely appropriate here." @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: Jessica Bustle's attorney is explicitly saying the judge should "look at the precedent of the Anna Morgan-Lloyd case." Judge Hogan says "each individual case has to stand on its own." @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: Jessica Bustle's attorney says his client was a "victim" of the "cult-like personalities" on social media. "I won't name who... but you know exactly who I'm talking about." Says this person has been "shouting down orders through social media" for 4 years. @wusa9

#CapitolRiot: Jessica Bustle has apparently been off social media and "changed her life completely" since her arrest. Her attorney is essentially saying she was in thrall to Donald Trump's Twitter account. @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: Judge Hogan asks Joshua Bustle if he's been able to work since his arrest. Says he has not. Tells him they're moving to South Carolina for a fresh start. Hogan asks about his relationship with his family since 1/6: "It's not great." @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: Jessica Bustle is saying she and her husband went to D.C. on 1/6 to attend the medical freedom rally. Claims her son was injured by vaccines. Says she didn't understand the "terminology" of posting that she was "storming" the Capitol. @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: Jessica Bustle says she does not agree with anyone who commits violence, "no matter who that is." Does not explicitly say she no longer believes, for example, the U.S. is in imminent danger of a communist takeover. @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: Judge Hogan says the case is unique because the Bustles "were not there originally as Trump supporters... although they may be Trump supporters." Bustles have said they were in D.C. on 1/6 for a medical freedom protest. @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: Judge Hogan is referencing the toll of January 6, including the recent suicide of another MPD officer who responded to the riot. @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: Judge Hogan says he's not going to give jail time in this case. He's now expounding on why, but his audio is really going in and out at the moment.

#CapitiolRiot: Judge Hogan: “Here we have a group of individuals, irritated and mislead by false claims of a fraudulent election, trying to take the law into their own hands. The basic premise of this country is the rule of law.” @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: Judge Hogan says again he's concerned about probation-only sentences becoming the normal. Says he "seriously considered" giving Jessica Bustle jail time. Then his audio cuts out just before he says what he's sentencing Joshua Bustle to. @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: Joshua Bustle sentenced to 30 days of home confinement and 2 years of supervised probation + 40 hours of community service. He'll also have to pay $500 in restitution. No fine, in part because of the impending birth of his child. @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: Judge Hogan is granting a delayed start for Joshua Bustle's home confinement period, since he and his wife are preparing to move to South Carolina. @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: Judge Hogan again is saying the Bustles have endured a "substantial punishment" in terms of the social and relational consequences. He also says he believes she is remorseful. "At the same time, I seriously considered putting you in jail." @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: Judge Hogan says, "Your statements about patriots are so inaccurate. So misguided. Patriots are not ones to attack those trying to complete their constitutional duties and attempt to stop it." @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: Judge Hogan sentences Jessica Bustle to 60 days of home confinement + 2 years of supervised probation. Restitution of $500. No additional fine. @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: Judge Hogan says he's not going to lecture Jessica Bustle about her vaccine views -- "That's your decision." -- but hopes she will read accurate media on it in light of the Delta variant and the fact that she is pregnant. @wusa9 @EricFlackTV

#CapitolRiot: Judge Hogan says he will order the Bustles' home confinement to begin on September 1, to allow them to complete their move to South Carolina. @wusa9 @EricFlackTV