The judge appointed by Obama who is handling the case involving former President Donald Trump’s election interference case in Washington has delivered her toughest sentence yet. In a separate case related to the January 6 events, she sentenced a man from Maryland to over five years in prison.
On April 19, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan handed down a sentence in a case involving Scott Miller, a Maryland man and former leader of a local chapter of the Proud Boys. Miller was convicted of assaulting law enforcement with a dangerous weapon during the protest at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Mr. Miller joined a crowd at the Lower West Terrace “Tunnel” at around 4:15 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021, a location where some of the most violent clashes took place between protesters and police, per charging documents.
He repeatedly hit a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer with a long wooden pole and then proceeded to throw various objects, including a metal pipe or pole, a bottle, and a large black speaker, at police in the tunnel.
According to prosecutors, Mr. Miller proceeded to strike multiple officers who were guarding the tunnel by swinging or jabbing a long pole at their heads. Later, he engaged in a struggle with officers who were holding a riot shield and managed to tear it out of their hands.
Mr. Miller pleaded guilty on Jan. 5, 2024, to a felony charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon.
Judge Chutkan, who recently halted President Trump’s trial for election interference until the U.S. Supreme Court can review his historic bid for immunity claim, has sentenced Mr. Miller to 66 months in prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release, and ordered him to pay $2,000 in restitution.
This sentence marks the toughest penalty she has issued in any of the numerous Jan. 6 cases she has overseen, surpassing the 63 months of incarceration she imposed on two defendants for their involvement in the protest.
In court, she called the Jan. 6 incident “close to as serious a crisis as this nation has ever faced,” while praising the officers who fought back the crowd as “patriots.”
“It can happen again,” she said. “Extremism is alive and well in this country. Threats of violence continue unabated.”
Judge Chutkan has recently garnered attention for stating that the Jan. 6 defendants facing charges are dangerous and should not be labeled as heroes or hostages, as President Trump has occasionally described them.
A review of court records reveals that Judge Chutkan has either met or surpassed the sentences requested by prosecutors in Jan. 6 cases thus far.
Share your thoughts by scrolling down to leave a comment.
