WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 06: Protesters supporting U.S. President Donald Trump break into the U.S. Capitol on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. Congress held a joint session today to ratify President-elect Joe Biden's 306-232 Electoral College win over President Donald Trump. Pro-Trump protesters entered the U.S. Capitol building during demonstrations in the nation's capital. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Robert Palmer of Tampa, Florida was sentenced on Friday to 63 months, just over five years, for assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6 insurrection on the Capitol. Thus far, Palmer’s is the longest sentence among over 150 defendants who have pleaded guilty for their involvement in the attack. The next-longest sentence for participation in the riot is 41 months.
Palmer was charged with repeatedly assaulting police officers. According to prosecutors, he threw a wooden plank at officers, sprayed a fire extinguisher at a line of police, and then threw the empty canister at the officers. A few minutes later, he retrieved the extinguisher and threw it at them again. He attacked another group of police by throwing a metal pole at them like a spear.
He ceased the assault when an officer shot him in the abdomen with a nonlethal rubber bullet. According to documents, all of the officers shielded themselves from Palmer’s attack and none of them were hurt.
“Those officers were so brave standing there, just taking all the stuff that people were giving them, all the taunts, all the jeers and everything,” Palmer said to Judge Tanya S. Chutkan prior to his sentence. “I am so ashamed I was part of that. Very, very ashamed.”
Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!
A week of political news in your in-box.
We find the news you need to know, so you don't have to.
Soon after the insurrection, Palmer was one of the first people to turn himself in to the FBI. In October, he pleaded guilty to his charges.
In light of these acts, his lawyer, Bjorn Brunvand, argued that Palmer deserved a reduced sentence on the grounds that he held himself accountable for his actions. However, prosecutors argued that Palmer’s post on social media after he plead guilty shows a lack of remorse.
In the post, which Palmer admitted on Friday was untruthful, Palmer asked for support from his viewers and argued that the assault was in self-defense, falsely claiming that he only threw the fire extinguisher after being shot by the rubber round.
“The posting of the false statement indicated at the time after he pleaded guilty that he was still denying his culpability for the offense,” said Chutkan, who determined that these actions demonstrated lack of remorse.
The defense lawyer also argued that Palmer behaved in a “completely out of character” manner during the Jan. 6 riot, and that his client did so because he was “swept up in the furor of the crowd.”
However, prosecutors refuted this argument. “Palmer did not stumble into a bad situation,” they said. They pointed to the fact that Palmer had only assaulted the police after watching officers be attacked for an hour. The lawyers summarized, “Knowing exactly what has happening to the officers in the Lower West Terrace tunnel, Palmer chose to get closer and physically attack.”
Of the ruling against Palmer, Chutkan said, “It has to be made clear that trying to violently overthrow the government, trying to stop the peaceful transition of power, and assaulting law enforcement officers in that effort is going to be met with absolutely certain punishment.”
Political pundits believe Tulsi Gabbard's nomination as director of national intelligence is in trouble after…
The New York attorney general's office said it would not drop its $400 million civil…
Left-wing MSNBC host Rachel Maddow has linked Luigi Mangione, who was charged with the murder…
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MbSa1l8s4wQ President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance attended the 125th Army-Navy game at Northwest Stadium…
Rep. Cori Bush (D-Missouri) led a coalition of legislators and advocates this week to call on President Joe…
President-elect Donald Trump reiterated his plans to end birthright citizenship in the United States, which…