Thread by @ZoeTillman

Hello from Chief Judge Beryl Howell's courtroom (I'm listening remotely), where Jan. 6 defendant Robert Schornak (on the right in the selfie pic) is appearing for sentencing. Govt is seeking 4-6 mos incarceration for plea of illegally entering Capitol, he's seeking probation

Here's the dial-in info to listen to the hearing before Howell, plus court rules:
dcd.uscourts.gov/covid-19-emerg…
Toll Free Number: 888-557-8511
Access Code: 3318202

At the start of the hearing, you could hear a baby crying in the background, and Howell asks the person to leave (not clear if they're in-person or virtual), saying that a sentencing is no place for a crying baby, no matter how cute

Howell asks govt to focus presentation on why the govt is seeking such a higher range. AUSA says the important aggravating factors are Schornak's planning for violence and "social media"; Howell has her clarify that these weren't public posts, but private messages via Facebook

Messages the govt has highlighted include: "We’re obviously going next week, we can’t stay home n watch our republic be stolen. They want a fight let’s have it," and when asking for a bullet-proof vest, "I’m going to DC on the 6th and I don’t expect it to be peaceful"

AUSA bristles at the defense claim that the govt took messages out of context, saying they're quoting from his Facebook posts/messages directly, including "I will never apologize for what we did, ever" on Jan. 7

Howell notes Schornak shared that he'd cooperated with the congressional investigation into Jan. 6, and asks if the govt believes he should get credit for that. AUSA basically says no, it's not the same as cooperation with a federal investigation, these are separate tracks

Howell sounds surprised/skeptical by this, asks AUSA if there should be some acknowledgment of this cooperation. AUSA reiterates they're asking for 4-6mos incarceration, and if the court wants to give some consideration to committee coop, maybe that takes him from 6 mos to 4

Howell asks about the govt's decision to recommend a longer incarceration period than most Jan. 6 misdemeanor plea cases, knowing that limits the time the judge can order him to be under court supervision

AUSA responds that under the circumstances of this case, they believe longer incarceration is the better general deterrent, saying that "far too often" defendants getting lengthy probation "creates the impression that this is just a slap on the wrist"

Important to note that this is a class A misdemeanor plea (illegally entering a restricted area, max 1 year in jail) and not a class B misdemeanor like parading (max 6 mos in jail), so it differs from most Jan. 6 pleas, but Howell points out it's still a high rec from the govt

This is Howell's first sentencing for a class A misdemeanor plea in a Jan. 6 case, she notes, and spent a lot of time parsing other cases where govt rec'd more or less than the 4-6 mos they're asking for in Schornak's case

Discussing restitution (standard plea terms in Jan. 6 cases have been $500 for misdemeanor, $2,000 for felony), Howell asks if the Architect of the Capitol has ever updated the $1.495M damage estimate from last year, AUSA says no

Schornak's lawyer Eugene Ohm is up to make the case for 2 years probation and community service. He says Schornak is remorseful, Howell asks what exactly made Schornak change his mind

Ohm says that getting arrested was the turning point for Schornak — lost his job, had to take responsibility for law enforcement showing up at his house with search warrant while family was home, made him realize what he did was wrong and that his priorities "were a mess"

Ohm says Schornak realized he was "duped" by rhetoric and the "echo chamber." Ohm says he recently made a joke to Schornak about Trump's comment about pardoning Jan. 6 defs if reelected and Schornak replied, I want nothing to do with that, they fooled me enough

As for congressional committee cooperation, Ohm said Schornak decided to do that knowing the govt wouldn't give him a specific reward (a la getting credit for cooperating with criminal investigation), and Howell notes that she believes it's something that warrants credit

As for govt's arg about Schornak planning for violence, Ohm says the evidence shows that he was prepping for defense, not to initiate violence, was concerned about antifa (even if, Ohm stresses, that was misguided and the result of him being in a dangerous echo chamber)

Ohm tells Howell that he's felt "a level of mistrust" from his Jan. 6 clients (as a liberal public defender in DC), and it's taken time to break that. He says in building a relationship with Schornak, found him to be insightful, reflective and "completely regretful"

Schornak's lawyer noted Schornak's community/family people continued to praise him for participating in Capitol attack, Howell asks if he pushes back when that happens, Schornak says yes, that he tells them he "screwed up royally," that it’s not something to be proud of

Howell is going over all the various factors at play in Schornak's case before announcing a sentence, says she gives him credit for speaking w/ the congressional committee: "I think that kind of cooperation is helpful to this country and is helpful in making amends"

But Howell also notes that she agrees with the govt that he's in a more serious category of defendants, noting advance planning for violence, quoting from Facebook messages expressing pride, that he covered a lot of ground in the Capitol in a short period of time

Howell: "This defendant is a grown-up. He's college-educated, he should have known better. ... There are consequences for going along with the crowd, for not scrutinizing the news and what politicians say"

Now: Chief Judge Beryl Howell sentences Jan. 6 defendant Robert Schornak to 3 years probation, with special conditions of 30 days incarceration (to be split into two 14-day stints) and 2 months home detention

And that's a wrap

It's been brought to my attention that this math doesn't work out (30 days not being 14 x 2) — the thrust is that Howell directed his special probation condition of incarceration to be split into two periods so he wouldn't be away from home for the full time all at once