Thread by @ZoeTillman

Hello from Judge Dabney Friedrich's virtual courtroom, where Jan. 6 defendant Kevin Loftus is appearing for sentencing. Govt wants 30 days in jail for his plea to parading, defense is seeking probation
s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2108…

"That's right folks some of us are in it to win it"

Dial-in info to listen to the hearing before Judge Friedrich, plus court rules:
dcd.uscourts.gov/covid-19-emerg…
Toll Free Number: 877-336-1829
Access Code: 8424583

Loftus' sentencing kicks off with tech issues, the judge freezes, tries calling back in, now they're dealing with feedback and voices echoing

This is like a piece of performance art on ~ these times ~, with Friedrich's voice repeating "in zoom" "in zoom" "in zoom"

Okay they've sorted it out and are back on track with Loftus' sentencing

AUSA Emory Cole is up first, notes Loftus was wearing a QAnon shirt — evidence he "espoused" those views — when he was recorded in this video saying, "we basically took the whole fucking building"

In arguing for jail time for the petty offense plea, AUSA focuses on lack of remorse, notes the feds saw Loftus posting on a gaming app last summer while he was on pretrial release saying he was famous and a "hero," wasn't worried about the case, thought he could sue people later

AUSA noted messages from Loftus talking about having guns + pic, but says a search of his home showed he was in compliance with his pretrial release conditions and it was an old photo

Doc: s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2140…

Friedrich questions why the govt let Loftus plead to the least serious offense if they thought he was such an outlier, AUSA says the plea reflected evidence they had re: his conduct at the Capitol, but his actions/statements after warranted some period of incarceration

Friedrich makes clear that, as she's said in previous cases, she doesn't think the court has authority to impose incarceration + probation (split sentence) for a petty offense, and believes there's "tremendous" need for long-term court supervision, so these pleas tie her hands

The judge is signaling she's not inclined to order Loftus to serve jail time, and instead it would be probation and maybe some period of home detention. The govt has argued split sentences are permissable and is taking it up to the DC Circuit in one other case so far

Friedrich asks for govt's rec if jail is off the table, AUSA says max probation (3 years) + 60 days home detention. Friedrich remains skeptical, noting that's more severe than sentences she gave others who were more active in the initial breach of the Capitol

AUSA argues that even though the FBI didn't actually find guns at this house, Loftus' posts on the gaming app could have inspired others and showed him not being worried about the criminality of what he did; Friedrich still doesn't seem to be buying this line of argument

Loftus' lawyer is up, explains the situation with the game: It's a medieval war game, and a person that Loftus beat turned over the screenshots of his messages to the FBI. She says his posts were "troubling" but they were "bragging," "bolstering" in the context of the game

Defense lawyer Dani Jahn (from the federal defender office) says that Loftus' remorse is sincere, and what he told the FBI (he gave a statement admitting his conduct at the Capitol) and a pretrial services officer should count more than what he said in a game

Loftus addresses the judge, says the reason people showed up on Jan. 6 was because they "lost belief in the system," and that his court case (until he read AUSA's filing) restored his faith b/c his rights had been protected through the process

Loftus says he knows he's said "a lot of interesting things" - "blah blah blah it is what it is."

He insists he's cooperated with law enforcement, told the truth, and isn't ashamed of how he's handled himself with law enforcement

AUSA is back up, argues that for Loftus to say "it is what it is" is offensive to him and the men and women of law enforcement who had to stand up to protect democracy that day

Friedrich moves right into announcing the sentence, begins by describing how his case lacks many features of more serious cases (no assault, no damage, no advance planning, no leadership, minimal time inside) even if his mere presence contributed to danger of the mob

Friedrich says she's "confounded" by Loftus' reaction to his role in what happened and how he could think of himself as a hero, but says she also is encouraged by him talking about his faith in the system being restored and believes his remorse is sincere

Friedrich sentences Loftus to 3 years probation, 60 hours community service, mental health and substance abuse treatment (no fine but he'll pay $500 restitution per plea agreement)