Judge shoots down MAGA rioter's leniency bid after he makes bragging call to podcast

A convicted Capitol rioter called into a podcast earlier this year in which he downplayed the events of January 6th, 2021 and falsely claimed that he and his fellow rioters "did nothing… we touched a gate."

As reported by CBS News' Scott MacFarlane, Judge Royce Lamberth on Wednesday cited MAGA rioter Taylor Johnatakis' January 2024 appearance on a podcast to cast doubt on the sincerity of the contrition that he had expressed previously to the court.

To Lamberth, this suggested that Johntakis was willing to change his story "based on his audience," thus undermining any pleas for leniency based on the fact that he regrets his actions and had no criminal record prior to violently storming the United States Capitol on behalf of the one-time host of "Celebrity Apprentice."

Lamberth told Johntakis that "living an otherwise blameless life doesn’t give anyone a free pass" and he informed him that he "left your good qualities at home on January 6."

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The judge then sentenced Johntakis, who was convicted of assaulting police officers and other crimes related to the riots, to 87 months in prison.

According to MacFarlane, "Johnatakis blew a kiss to supporters in the room and was ushered by Marshals back to jail."

Johntakis during his trial became notorious for deploying sovereign citizen-style arguments that American courts had no jurisdiction to hold him accountable for alleged crimes.

Lamberth responded by calling these claims "bull s--t" and "gobbledygook," and he was subsequently convicted by a jury on all counts.

Former President Donald Trump has made freeing and pardoning the Capitol rioters a central pledge of his 2024 presidential campaign, even going so far as to refer to the rioters as "hostages," despite the fact that the vast majority of those still in jail were convicted of violently assaulting police.

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