Thread by @ZoeTillman

Sentencing is set to begin soon in the case of Jan. 6 defendant Robert Reeder — he'd pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor, but his Aug. sentencing got pushed back when new videos surfaced hours before the hearing that appeared to show him assaulting police: buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…

Prosecutors ultimately decided not to press more charges against Reeder, but notified the court that they'd be arguing for 6 mos in prison (the max for the misdemeanor he pleaded guilty to) instead of the 2 mos they'd originally recommended

https://twitter.com/ZoeTillman/status/1442900927736729600

The govt filed a series of slides this a.m. as part of its sentencing presentation: s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2108…

Prosecutors will argue he wasn't a "tourist" (buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…) and highlight his online activity promoting election conspiracy theories and confrontation w/ police

Reeder's sentencing is in-person before Judge Thomas Hogan, but the public line just clicked on (YAY), sounds like the govt is in the middle of its presentation

AUSA argues Reeder put forward a "self-serving" narrative to explain why he went to DC on Jan. 6 and what he was doing. Re: claim that he wanted to see museums and memorials, AUSA notes Reeder lives in Maryland so he could easily do that any time — "another rewrite of reality"

Re: how Reeder would have known he wasn't allowed to be where he was at the Capitol, AUSA highlights evidence of the chaos Reeder would have seen/heard around him, photo/video that show him near police trying to maintain barricades

Here's the public line info for Hogan if you'd like to listen in:

AUSA notes Reeder was filming throughout his trek to the Capitol, and after he left chose to go back in. A common theme for the govt in the misdemeanor cases has been that no rioter acted in a vacuum — they would have seen the violence/chaos around them and chose to go forward

AUSA says the idea that Reeder didn't realize the seriousness of what was happening at the Capitol until he got home later is "as absurd as it is unbelievable"

Recall this is the footage that Sedition Hunters uncovered and published online shortly before Reeder was supposed to be sentenced in August. AUSA notes Reeder hadn't come forward about this physical confrontation with police

https://twitter.com/SeditionHunters/status/1428001852428374016

AUSA is showing the judge the video of Reeder assaulting the officer, and indicates he's currently displaying a slow-motion version of it (I'm listening in remotely so I can't see what's being played in the courtroom)

AUSA says although Reeder decided to plead guilty, he has "repeatedly" shown a lack of remorse and made misrepresentations to law enforcement and to the court through his defense lawyer (notes the govt felt compelled to respond to the claims in his sentencing memo)

AUSA highlights how Reeder's lawyer wrote in a sentencing memo that Reeder didn't want to post anything online after Jan. 6 b/c he was "sickened" by what happened, but, per Reeder's own messages, he *couldn't* post to Facebook because he'd been banned in late Dec. for 30 days

AUSA argues max sentence of 6 mos in prison is appropriate because Reeder has not shown remorse, appeared to only be sorry about the consequences he now faced, was not a "tourist" or a "journalist" but a "criminal" + need to deter others

The bad news is - the public line is pretty fuzzy (that's been an issue for some in-court proceedings), and Reeder's lawyer is now up, but it's very hard to make out what he's saying

Reeder's lawyer Robert Bonsib starts by calling out the govt for saying that it's not trying to punish Reeder for First Amendment speech but then highlighted his posts expressing political beliefs (the govt screenshotted memes/messages re: election conspiracy theories)

Hogan is also hard to hear on the public line, but it sounds like he told Bonsib that he allowed the govt to introduce this evidence in order to respond to statements in the defense sentencing memo

Bonsib says it's true Reeder didn't turn himself in the next day, but he knew he was wanted and took "appropriate" steps to retain legal counsel and get advice, and then "bent over backwards" to make himself available to the govt (govt has argued Reeder wasn't fully truthful)

There's a delay in my updates from the Reeder hearing because it's very hard to understand what anyone is saying. Bonsib is playing some content for the judge and describing it, but I can't make out what anyone is saying

Bonsib becomes clearer for a moment as he becomes more animated arguing that Reeder's physical confrontation with police outside the Capitol was not an assault — he says it was a "reflexive" and "defensive" action

Govt/defense presentations have finished re: Reeder, I wish I had more details for you but most of this hearing has been almost impossible to hear on the public line. Hogan is taking a five-min recess (voice of the court employee who announced that was, thankfully, very clear!)

Judge Hogan is back on the bench and everyone sounds remarkably clear on the line now

Robert Reeder's eldest brother David Reeder is now up to speak in defense of his brother (notably, he apparently worked for decades at the Justice Dept, didn't get more details on that), says "the events of Jan. 6 are completely out of character for him"

David Reeder says the night of Jan. 6, Robert Reeder called him and sounded "very bad" and said: "Dave, I really effed up." David Reeder says Reeder was aware he shouldn't have been at the Capitol and was sorry about it, talks about the effect on his family

Robert Reeder now addresses the judge: "It's been a really rough ride for me. And I'd like to first sincerely apologize to the court and to everyone for my shameful and inexcusable actions that day. ... I'm embarassed, I'm ashamed."

Reeder insists he did go downtown intending to visit museums/memorials on Jan. 6, but they were closed, so he went over to the Capitol. He says he understands how hard a day it was for the police, and has always supported police, he disputes that he ever bragged about being there

Reeder begins to cry as he talks about the effect of this on his son. He says he's lost his job and hasn't been able to find a new one because it's so easy to find information about him online now: "I'm poisoned, I’m radioactive."

Reeder: "I'm really sorry that I made the police officers' job that day harder when I was there. I had no right to be in the Capitol I understand that."

Reeder asks for a one more chance. Hogan says he's "a little concerned" about comments Reeder made to FBI faulting officers for letting people in and claiming it was a frame-up to embarass Trump supporters. Reeder says he doesn't blame police, may have been a poor choice of words

Reeder says he was just trying to get into the Capitol to escape tear gas and get water. Hogan is pushing back, saying Reeder had been there for the whole riot, saw people pushing into the Capitol, pushing back bike rack barriers, charging through the building

Hogan points out Reeder would have heard alarms, felt pepper spray, seen people trying to push through police: "I think you had to know what was going on" before he got home and turned on the TV

Hogan says he understands what Reeder says about losing his friends, family, job, church, other parts of his life because of what happened — but he says those have been consequences of being part of a riot of people attempting "to overthrow the ordinary operations of our govt"

Hogan: "It’s become evident to me in the riot cases … that many of the defendants who are pleading guilty are not truly accepting responsibility. They seem to me to be trying to get this out of the way ... and stating whatever they have to say ... hoping to get probation"

Hogan says he's not going to give Reeder the full 6 mos the govt is asking for, notes his lack of criminal history and says he doesn't condone the confrontation with police but didn't see that Reeder struck officer with his fist

Hogan again chastizes people who still believe they were justified doing what they did on Jan. 6, says the term "political prisoners" is a "foolish appellation" for anyone involved in the riots

Now: Judge Hogan sentences Jan. 6 defendant Robert Reeder to 3 months in prison — more than the probation Reeder asked for, less than the 6 months the government argued for

Hogan will let Reeder self-surrender to begin serving his sentence at a later date — it's not clear if he'll report to a federal prison facility or the DC Jail, since it's a relatively short sentence

Hogan says he hopes Reeder's sentence sends a signal to other participants in the riots "that they can expect to receive jail time," esp. for similar conduct as Reeder. And that's a wrap on this hearing.