Reagan-appointed judge: 'Preposterous' January 6 claims pose 'danger to our country'



US District Judge Royce Lamberth — whom conservative icon Ronald Reagan appointed to the federal bench in 1987 — gave an ominous warning Thursday about the threat historical revisionism surrounding the January 6 insurrection poses to democracy.

According to NBC News, Judge Lamberth read from a prepared statement during a resentencing hearing for a January 6 defendant that he was "shocked" by comments made by some elected officials (whom he did not name) that dismissed or downplayed the violent siege of the US Capitol in 2021. He further elaborated that those "preposterous" comments about the Capitol riot "could presage further danger to our country."

"The Court is accustomed to defendants who refuse to accept that they did anything wrong. But in my thirty-seven years on the bench, I cannot recall a time when such meritless justifications of criminal activity have gone mainstream," Lambert said.

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"I have been dismayed to see distortions and outright falsehoods seep into the public consciousness," he continued. "I have been shocked to watch some public figures try to rewrite history, claiming rioters behaved 'in an orderly fashion' like ordinary tourists, or martyrizing convicted January 6 defendants as 'political prisoners' or even, incredibly, 'hostages.'"

Former President Donald Trump has referred to his supporters who ransacked the US Capitol and assaulted police officers as "hostages," which is also a term used by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-New York), who chairs the House Republican Conference. NBC News' Ryan J. Reilly reported that Lamberth's comments about insurrectionists behaving "in an orderly fashion" is a reference to Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Georgia), who likened Trump supporters who broke into the US Capitol and chanted "hang Mike Pence" to tourists. The Republican National Committee even passed a resolution a year after the attack calling the deadly riot that killed five police officers and injured hundreds of others "legitimate political discourse."

Judge Lamberth called the January 6 insurrection "the antithesis of patriotism," and said that he "cannot condone the notion that those who broke the law on January 6 did nothing wrong, or that those duly convicted with all the safeguards of the United States Constitution, including a right to trial by jury in felony cases, are political prisoners or hostages."

"The Court does not expect its remarks to fully stem the tide of falsehoods," he added. "But I hope a little truth will go a long way."

READ MORE: Trump's promise to pardon Jan. 6 rioters guarantees 'likelihood of more violence': experts

Read NBC's full report here.



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