We'll be back in Chief Judge Beryl Howell's (virtual) courtroom shortly for the sentencing of Eric Torrens, another Class "B" misdemeanor case. Based on her sentence just now for Leonard Gruppo, and yesterday for Torrens' co-defendant Jack Griffith, probation only seems likely.
ICYMI: Yesterday Chief Judge Howell laid into the DOJ over their "muddled" and "schizophrenic" approach to sentencing in #CapitolRiot cases. She said she felt her hands were tied by their recommendations that other misdemeanor defendants get probation. wusa9.com/article/news/n…
The conversation between Chief Judge Howell and the DOJ about sentencing continues. Howell says it's incumbent upon the government to explain their sentencing thought process.
Chief Judge Howell says things like the DOJ explaining its thought process behind saying Leonard Gruppo's military service should mean he's held to a higher standard is helpful for the court, even if she doesn't agree with it ("Which I don't," she adds).
Factors driving DOJ's request for Eric Torrens to serve 2 weeks in jail:
• Taking photos/videos insid Capitol (show he was "gleeful" in the face of what was happening around him)
• Witnessing threats against police
• Full cooperation w/ FBI post-arrest (continued...)
Chief Judge Howell asks if #CapitolRiot defendants continue to believe the 2020 election was stolen, is that "sufficiently dangerous to warrant jail time?"
Chief Judge Howell says there are some post-arrest statements that would warrant significant deterrence (jail time), but says she didn't find that with Jack Griffith, and DOJ hasn't even pointed to anything like that with Eric Torrens.
Eric Torrens' attorney, Edward Ungvarsky, is arguing now for a sentence of probation only (which it seems pretty likely he's going to get).
"Causing an an entire branch of our government to flee? Oh my goodness. The default should not be probation!" Chief Judge Howell says. But she has also sentenced the past two #CapitolRiot defendants to come before her to probation.
Ungvarsky says he thinks the court should be cautious in imposing jail time as a general deterrent for #CapitolRiot cases.
"It's sometimes better to spare the rod and demonstrate compassion and patience for those who start out so distrustful [of the system]," he says.
Ungvarsky says he thinks probationary periods beyond 1 year are "excessive," but he's requesting a 12-24-month period of probation. Says Eric Torrens is indigent and likely won't be able to afford future legal counsel.
Got distracted in the newsroom, but Chief Judge Howell is still going over all the facts in the case, which, minus the military history, are roughly analogous to those in Leonard Gruppo's misdemeanor sentencing earlier.
🚨 SENTENCE: Chief Judge Beryl Howell sentences Eric Torrens to 36 months of probation on one misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a capitol building. #CapitolRiot
Some portion of this probationary period will be served on home detention, but if Judge Howell said it, I missed it. Leonard Gruppo was ordered to serve the first 90 days of his probation on home detention by Howell earlier.
Starting off today at 10 a.m. there's a sentencing hearing for Ret. Army Lt. Col. Leonard Gruppo, who claimed in a memo last week he was "misled" by former President Trump. google.com/amp/s/www.wusa…#CapitolRiot@wusa9@EricFlackTV
Leonard Gruppo will be sentenced by Chief Judge Beryl Howell, who had quite a bit to say about the DOJ's approach to January 6 cases during another sentencing yesterday, so this is one to watch. google.com/amp/s/www.wusa…#CapitolRiot@wusa9@EricFlackTV
Gruppo pleaded guilty in August to one count of parading -- the same misdemeanor count as Jack Griffith. Judge Howell said yesterday she felt the DOJ's previous requests for only probation for the same charge "tied" her hands. She gave Griffith 3 years of probation.
Meanwhile in Chief Judge Howell's court, Jack Griffith – the #CapitolRiot defendant who said he was making a video game where you play Donald Trump hunting pedophiles and Satanists – is being sentenced on one misdemeanor count. @wusa9
Joined this one in progress, but Chief Judge Howell is really pressing the government on "what appears to me to be an evolving, changing position" in terms of what sentences the DOJ is asking for #CapitolRiot defendants to serve.
She points out that the DOJ only asked for Anna Morgan-Lloyd, who pleaded guilty to the same count as Jack Griffith is, to serve probation. The DOJ is asking for Griffith to serve 3 months behind bars. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
Good morning all. At 10:30 a.m. we've got a status hearing for Ryan Samsel. Undoubtedly, the judge will be curious about this latest filing. #CapitolRiot
Listening now to a status hearing for Proud Boys Dominic Pezzola, William Pepe and Matthew Greene. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly is starting off w/ Pezzola's latest motion for his bond hearing to be reopened. Previous on that: wusa9.com/article/news/n…#CapitolRiot@wusa9
Pezzola's argument was, essentially, that conditions in the DC Jail are so bad and he has so little access to his case materials that he must be released. The DOJ pointed out Pezzola hadn't even tried to use the jail's existing discovery-access system. wusa9.com/article/news/n…
Judge Kelly now going over what he said last time, which is that there are no federal cases in which a judge has considered jail conditions as a bond factor under the Bail Reform Act. wusa9.com/article/news/n…
🚨 @CapitolPolice are investigating a bomb threat at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Road closures on Independence Avenue and C Street SW. More info soon. @wusa9
UPDATE: @CapitolPolice have closed further roads around the Capitol complex as they investigate a bomb threat at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. @wusa9
It's only been 3 days since the last threat at the Capitol. On Sunday, Capitol Police received a "specific threat" against uniformed officers and spent hours searching the complex, although no one was found.
NEW from me: Capitol Police Officer Michael Angelo Riley has brought on a high-powered team of three former federal prosecutors with ties to the U.S. Attorney's Office in D.C. to defend him in his obstruction case. wusa9.com/article/news/n…#CapitolRiot@wusa9@EricFlackTV
The attorneys, all with Silverman Thompson, are all at least partner-level, and two were AUSAs with the U.S. Attorney's Office in D.C. One, Andrew C. White, was senior litigation advisor to the Clinton Independent Counsel. wusa9.com/article/news/n…#CapitolRiot@wusa9@EricFlackTV
A former federal prosecutor tells me it likely means Riley has abandoned a trial strategy and is hoping the former AUSAs' personal/professional relationships with the U.S. Attorney's Office in D.C. can get him a sweeter plea offer. wusa9.com/article/news/n…