Capitol Rioters From Ohio Are Going To Federal Prison

     Ohio is home to Jim Jordan, one of the chief supporters of the disgraced former president and one of the men I believe to be most responsible for the January 6th insurrection. It's no surprise, therefore, that Ohio had quite a few participants in the attack. It's not right to single out Ohio, though: these men and women ranged in age from 17 to 77 and came from all but a few states. 

     The number of rioters charged is rapidly approaching 700; for context, it is believed up to 1,200 may have stormed the Capitol building. These cases are split roughly into two groups: nonviolent people who trespassed in the Capitol and violent people (some former military and dozens involved in militias like Oath Keepers and Proud Boys) who destroyed property and/or assaulted police and/or threatened members of Congress. The two men sentenced yesterday fell into the former group.

     While members of the violent group deserve years behind bars, I understand the Department of Justice seeking misdemeanors for the trespassers; almost all of the nearly 100 guilty pleas they have gotten have been misdemeanor cases, and taking every case to trial in the largest criminal investigation in American history would be an absolute disaster. Still, they deserve some jail time. The first woman sentenced was an Indiana granny with no criminal history who committed no violence, but she deserved more than three years of probation. The remorse she expressed was only because she got caught, and people who commit politically-motivated crimes will almost always do it again if they don't see the gravity of their actions. Just seeing the inside of a federal prison for even a few weeks or months is enough to scare the average sane person straight.

     The judge in this case agreed. Air Force veteran Derek Jancart and steel mill worker Erik Rau were each sentenced to 45 days in federal prison with $500 in restitution after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct in the U.S. Capitol in July. Federal cases carry mandatory minimums of 85 percent under the truth-in-sentencing provision, which means these guys won't be getting out early. Jancart and Rau came that day with a gas mask, two-way radios, Kevlar gloves, and medical supplies. They knew that violence, whether or not they perpetrated it, would unfold with their help. Jancart was arrested after his family tipped off the FBI, and Jancart immediately identified Rau and gave them his phone number; Erik Rau would turn himself in. Perhaps the worst punishment of all is that, no matter what they do for the rest of their lives, their legacy will be an infamous day of bloodshed in American history: January 6th, 2021.