Judge warns Capitol riot could ‘happen again’ as Trump supporter jailed

The federal judge who oversaw Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case has denounced efforts to rewrite the history of the US Capitol attack.

US District Judge Tanya Chutkan handed down what she acknowledged may be one of the final punishments for the January 6 riot before the Republican president-elect’s promised pardons.

In the courthouse within view of the Capitol days before Mr Trump is set to take office, the judge acknowledged the Virginia man she was sentencing may never actually serve his 10-day prison term for his role in the riot.

But Judge Chutkan said she would not let talk of pardons impact decisions in her courtroom, telling the defendant: “There have to be consequences.”

She rejected the portrayal of the rioters as peaceful protesters as “nonsense”, arguing that even those who did not engage in violence and destruction were part of an effort to stop the peaceful transfer of power.

“I know what happened,” said Judge Chutkan. “I can’t say it won’t happen again.”

In the weeks since Mr Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, the judges overseeing the more than 1,500 criminal cases against the people who stormed the Capitol have continued accepting guilty pleas, presiding over trials and handing out sentences, even as some judges have alluded to the fact that the largest prosecution in Justice Department history may be nearing an abrupt end.

Nearly 1,300 of the defendants have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a judge or jury after trials to charges including seditious conspiracy and assaulting police officers with dangerous weapons.

Over 1,000 of them have been sentenced, with roughly two-thirds getting prison terms ranging from several days to 22 years.

Mr Trump has cast the rioters as “patriots” and “hostages” who he contends have been unfairly treated.

Mr Trump has repeatedly sought to downplay the violence that was captured on camera as members of the angry mob pushed past police barriers, shattered windows and attacked police with flagpoles and other makeshift weapons while Congress met to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.

But the scope of the potential pardons for the Janurary 6 defendants remains unclear.

Mr Trump has said he will look at defendants on a case-by-case basis, but he has not explained how he will decide who receives such relief.

Vice President-elect JD Vance recently said: “If you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned.” But he later added there was a “bit of grey area” in some cases.