Federal judge ‘shocked’ by Jan. 6 ‘hostages’ rhetoric

A federal judge handling cases involving Jan. 6 defendants starkly criticized some of the language used to describe the 2021 riot at the Capitol, saying in a court filing that he is “shocked” by rhetoric describing those convicted of crimes that day as “hostages.”

Judge Royce Lamberth said such rhetoric falsely portray the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and that this rhetoric itself could do damange to the country.

Lamberth, an appointee of former President Reagan, also warned that this rhetoric and Jan. 6 misinformation had gone “mainstream.”

He said he’s used to having defendants who are convinced they haven’t done anything wrong; “but in my thirty-seven years on the bench, I cannot recall a time when such meritless justifications of criminal activity have gone mainstream,” he said in the court filling. 

“I have been dismayed to see distortions and outright falsehoods seep into the public consciousness,” Lamberth continued. 

Lamberth did not mention Trump in his writing, but his remarks appeared to reference a number of Republicans who have downplayed the events, such as Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who has described convicted Jan. 6 defendants as hostages, and Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.), who compared those entering the Capitol that day to tourists.

“I have been shocked to watch some public figures try to rewrite history, claiming rioters behaved ‘in an orderly fashion’ like ordinary tourists, or martyrizing convicted January 6 defendants as ‘political prisoners’ or even, incredibly, ‘hostages,'” Lamberth wrote. “That is all preposterous. But the Court fears that such destructive, misguided rhetoric could presage further danger to our country.” 

The judge’s comments came as he was sentencing James Little, a Jan. 6 defendant who was charged with a misdemeanor. He was initially ordered to be sentenced to 60 days in jail and three years on probation.

Little appealed and was successful, arguing he could not be charged with a low misdemeanor and then face both probation and jail. The federal appeals court sent it back to Lamberth. During that time, Little completed his incarceration. 

“The Court cannot condone the shameless attempts by Mr. Little or anyone else to misinterpret or misrepresent what happened,” Lamberth wrote. “It cannot condone the notion that those who broke the law on January 6 did nothing wrong, or that those duly convicted with all the safeguards of the United States Constitution, including a right to trial by jury in felony cases, are political prisoners or hostages.” 

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) last week introduced legislation to censure Stefanik for calling Capitol attackers “hostages.” 

More than 1,200 individuals have been charged with federal crimes since the Jan. 6 attack.