WASHINGTON – A Kentucky man who was the first rioter to enter the U.S. Capitol during a mob’s attack on the building was sentenced on Tuesday to more than four years in prison.
A police officer who tried to subdue Michael Sparks with pepper spray described him as a catalyst for the Jan. 6 insurrection. The Senate that day recessed less than one minute after Sparks jumped into the building through a broken window. Sparks then joined other rioters in chasing a police officer up flights of stairs.
Before learning his sentencing, Sparks told the judge that he still believes the 2020 presidential election was marred by fraud and “completely taken from the American public."
“I am remorseful that what transpired that day didn’t help anybody,” Sparks said. “I am remorseful that our country is in the state it’s in.”
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who sentenced Sparks to four years and five months, told him that there was nothing patriotic about his prominent role in what was a “national disgrace.”
“I don’t really think you appreciate the full gravity of what happened that day and, quite frankly, the full seriousness of what you did,” the judge said.
Federal prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of four years and nine months for Sparks, a 47-year-old former factory worker from Cecilia, Kentucky.
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That’s a very light sentence for treason.
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That’s a mistake on the part of the prosecution, but it may have been made necessary because they couldn’t prove that beyond a shadow of a doubt, but had the insurrectionist dead to rights on what they did get him for.
Sometimes, you take the sentence you can get. :(
Indeed. These babies should be happy they weren’t put up against the wall like they probably deserve. Same with the people plotting the attempted coup being run at the same time.
Instead we hear about how they are “political prisoners” and so on. Well fuck that noise.
Would love to see some kind of therapy to help de-program his cult veil of what actually happened, and to work through why it’s him paying the price right now instead of the cult leader.
No consequences for the assholes that started the lies to get their dumbass voters to raid the capital to overthrow the nation.
Why not? 4 years is only 48 months.
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Do you have a source on that?
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That’s not a legal scholar. This clause in the constitution says it’s treason to “levy war” against the US, which one would imagine includes a large group of armed people storming the Capitol, regardless if the country is currently “at war”.
I’m curious about the idea that “legal scholars agree” that the country itself must already be at war, unless that’s not what you meant?
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K nevermind then
That’s it? 4 years? He will be out before next insurrection gala
4 years huh? Someone remind me how much time people serve for getting caught with pot?
Actually, don’t.
no more than.
FOX “News” + the poorly educated + a shameless lying conman = Jan 6
The real tragedy is the main culprit has been given tacit approval by the $upremecy Court.
*insurrectionist Traitor also works.
They are not rioters
Seems pretty clear cut. Anyone entering that building unlawfully wanted the results to be overturned and all legal options to change the result were exhausted. That’s insurrection.
In Checkers everybody’s expendable except the guy moving the pieces.
Sparks used social media to promote conspiracy theories about election fraud and advocate for a civil war. “It’s time to drag them out of Congress. It’s tyranny,” he posted on Facebook three days before the riot. [He and a friend] wore tactical vests.
Hard to argue innocence with all that.
Sparks added: “All it’s going to take is one person to go. The rest is following,"
He wasn’t wrong.
For the love of Pete, stop calling these terrorists “rioters”.
Calling them implies that none of this was planned.
These sentences should all be ~10x
ABC News - News Source Context (Click to view Full Report)
Information for ABC News:
MBFC: Left-Center - Credibility: High - Factual Reporting: High - United States of America
Wikipedia about this sourceSearch topics on Ground.News
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/rioter-enter-capitol-jan-6-attack-sentenced-4-113191771
Four more years!
What bakes my noodle is: that this guy and presumably almost half of voters firmly believe that the 2020 election wasn’t accurate. Factor in that like a third of the population doesn’t even vote…
I don’t know what that adds up to, but I don’t like it.
Is it always like this? Does it matter? Idk, bums me out.
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