WASHINGTON (CN) — In the first instance of a Jan. 6 defendant facing a sentence in excess of the government's recommended punishment, a federal judge sentenced a Texas-based rioter to 45 days in prison on Monday.
"Probation and a slap on the wrist does not prevent anyone from trying this again,” said U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, an Obama appointee. “There have to be consequences for participating in an attempted violent overthrow of the government.”
Matthew Mazzocco, from San Antonio, Texas, was only in the Capitol for 12 minutes on the afternoon of the insurrection, during which time he livestreamed to Facebook, took photos and admonished others to not take or destroy anything. He was also one of the first 10 people to take a plea deal — pleading guilty to one count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building
“My decision to enter into the Capitol was one of the most foolish and impulsive decisions I’ve made in my life,” Mazzocco said in a letter to the court, which his defense attorney Robbie Ward read to Chutkan, saying that Mazzocco knew he would be too nervous and overwhelmed to speak himself. “Since that day I have lived with a feeling of shame, sorrow and remorse.”
The charge to which Mazzocco pleaded guilty is punishable by up to six months in prison. Most defendants with similar pleas have not faced prison time, and Mazzocco was slated to part of that group with prosecutors recommending a sentence of three months of home confinement and three years of probation.
Chutkan instead imposed a sentence of 45 days behind bars, seeing little substance in the defendant's change of heart.
“Mr. Mazzocco did not go to the U.S. Capitol out of any love of the country. He went to support one man,” Chutkan said, referring to former President Donald Trump. “Mr. Mazzocco’s remorse didn’t come when he left the Capitol … it came when he realized he was in trouble, it came when he realized large numbers of people around the world were horrified at what he did.”
Mazzocco is the 12th defendant to be sentenced for storming the Capitol but only the sixth to receive jail time. He is the only one to receive a sentence more severe than what the government recommended.
Ward read that Mazzocco has received a myriad of death threats through phone calls and letters, which have taken a huge toll on his wife and children.
“I think Mr. Mazzocco is more remorseful than anyone else I’ve ever represented,” Ward said.
Chutkan noted, however, that Mazzocco only traveled to Washington once he learned that there would be a “wild” protest. She says Mazzocco cannot claim that he entered the building impulsively when the evidence shows he only did so after first walking around the mayhem outside of the Capitol.
“Maybe he didn’t break a window or injure law enforcement, but he wandered around and took pictures of himself grinning as though the chaos around him was entertainment,” Chutkan said. “He then bragged about it.”
On Facebook, as documented in the government's filings, Mazzocco posted “The capital is ours!” But in subsequent days, he tried to place the blame on antifa, a term that has become political shorthand for an anti-fascist activist movement. Trump himself has insinuated that the very supporters he urged to "fight like hell" on Jan. 6 were actually critics of his in disguise, part of a plot to make his base look bad.
Chutkan noted that Mazzocco was far less culpable than other Capitol rioters, and also that he was well-loved and well-respected in his community — mentioning the scores of letters she received on his behalf which attested to his character.
“We are not the worst thing we have ever done,” Chutkan said, quoting the civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson and referencing her background as a public defender. “You have lived an exemplary life in many respects. You have the rest of your life to show your family and children that you can fix your mistakes. It’s how you live your life after you make mistakes that show character.”
Chutkan said she wouldn’t impose a probationary sentence, as she believed that Mazzocco had learned his lesson and it wasn’t a good use of already taxed resources.
“The country is watching to see what the consequences are for something that has not happened in the history of this country before,” Chutkan said.
Later on Friday, Robert Scott Palmer pleaded guilty to a felony count of assaulting, restricting or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon. Palmer, from Florida, threw a wooden plank at law enforcement officers and attacked them with a fire extinguisher.
The estimated sentencing guidelines are 46–57 months. Palmer will be detained pending sentencing.
Dana Winn and Rachel Pert, a couple from Florida, also accepted a deal on Monday afternoon, pleading guilty to entering and remaining in a restricted building, a misdemeanor that carries up to one year in prison.
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
Additional Reads
-
-
Bay Area district attorney to face recall election April 15, 2024
