Thread by @TomDreisbach

Happening now:
The sentencing of Jan. 6 defendant Robert Scott Palmer.

Palmer pleaded guilty to assaulting police with a wooden plank and fire extinguisher.

You can listen to the sentencing by phone:
Toll Free Number: 866-590-5055
Access Code: 3850112

The DOJ is asking US District Judge Tanya Chutkan to sentence Palmer to 63 months’ incarceration and three years of supervised release.

Palmer is asking for 24 months' incarceration.

The government's sentencing memo: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…

Palmer's:
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…

Notably, Palmer was arrested shortly after HuffPost's @ryanjreilly identified him in a story, with help from the online #SeditionHunters community:
huffpost.com/entry/robert-p…

@ryanjreilly One issue for this sentencing:

After Palmer pleaded guilty, and said he took responsibility for attacking police, he posted on GiveSendGo that he was actually acting in self-defense.

Judge Chutkan: "I don't want anyone pleading guilty if they're not guilty."

Judge Chutkan is now asking Palmer about this contradiction and the statements on GiveSendGo.

Chutkan: "Were those statements true or were they false?"

Palmer: "They were false"

Chutkan: "Were you acting in self-defense?"

Palmer: "No, I was not."

Judge Chutkan says Palmer's posting of "admittedly false" statements on that donation page means he won't get a reduction of sentence for acceptance of responsibility.

Palmer has argued in court documents that he "went to the Capitol at the behest of the former president. Like
many others who participated in the Capitol riot, Mr. Palmer blindly followed the many figures who falsely but persistently claimed that the election had been stolen..."

Palmer's argument in court docs: "While many of the people who participated in the Capitol riot will be going to prison, the architects of that horrific event will likely never be charged with any criminal offense."

Judge Chutkan acknowledges this argument, that Palmer was only in DC because of the encouragement of President Trump and others who sought to overturn the election.

"You have a point...but that's not a reason to get a lower sentence."

Robert Palmer's son now has an opportunity to speak on his father's behalf.

Robert Scott Palmer, Jr.: "I do not in any way condone the actions that took place. ... I would just ask that the court going forward give him every opportunity to prove his contrition."

Robert Palmer, the defendant, now speaking:

"Your honor, I'm really, really ashamed of what I did."

He said he watched Rachel Maddow/MSNBC in jail and saw video of himself spraying officers with a fire extinguisher. (The MSNBC reference gets a laugh from Palmer and the judge)

Palmer says after serving his time, he will work to again become a productive member of society, and "I will never ever go to another political rally."

Palmer's attorney is asking that he be incarcerated at a facility in Florida, close to his family, and that he receive mental health and drug treatment while in prison.

Judge Chutkan now up.

Judge Chutkan: "There's a failure to acknowledge other people's humanity." She agrees that the conditions in the DC Jail are bad, but said that defendants like Palmer didn't care about jail conditions until they were locked up themselves.

Judge Chutkan: "None of us are the worst things we've ever done..."I don't know if your remorse now is genuine or not...but I hope it is true."

Judge Chutkan: "[January 6] was a violent attempt to overthrow a duly and lawfully elected president, and it resulted in destruction, death, injury."

Judge Chutkan tells Palmer to turn around and look at the US Marshals in the courtroom.

She says they rushed to the Capitol during the riot, risking their lives.

"They're the patriots," she says. "They didn't deserve to have a fire extinguisher thrown at them."

Judge Chutkan:

"Every day we're hearing of anti-democratic factions plotting violence...it has to be made clear that trying to violently overthrow the government...is going to be met with absolutely certain punishment - not staying at home, not watching Netflix."

Judge Chutkan sentences Robert Scott Palmer to 63 months of imprisonment.

This is the longest sentence in a Jan. 6 case yet.

Chutkan recommends that the Bureau of Prisons place him in a facility close to his home, and that he receive drug and mental health treatment.

Judge Chutkan: "It's the way we pick ourselves up from our mistakes that show our true character."

And she wishes Palmer good luck.