WASHINGTON (CN) — A repentant Capitol rioter earned kind words and a sentence of probation Friday from the chief federal judge for the District of Columbia.
"I am ashamed. I am sorry,” Leonard Gruppo, a decorated Army veteran from Texas, said in court this afternoon. "I shouldn't have been there. It was a huge mistake. I let down so many people. Everybody. Capitol police. My congressional leaders. Presidents. Both presidents. Family. Friends. Employers."
Chief U.S. Judge Beryl Howell sentenced Gruppo to two years of probation, 90 days of home detention and a $3,000 fine, noting that he was in the Capitol for only about seven minutes, he didn’t brag on social media afterward, he didn’t join in on the chants, and he voluntarily turned himself into the FBI.
In a letter to Howell dated Oct. 19, Gruppo said that he was “misled” by former President Donald Trump, and immediately felt regret about joining the mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Prosecutors, who recommended that Gruppo be sentenced to 30 days in prison, argued that Gruppo’s military service works against him, something that federal prosecutors have repeatedly argued when it comes to military veterans involved in the riot — but Howell disagreed.
“I do think it is somewhat ironic that his military service is being used against him,” said Howell, who just described herself in a court hearing Thursday for a separate Capitol riot case as an “army brat." During Friday’s hearing, Howell said she has tremendous respect for Howell’s military service, which includes 28 years, four combat zones and a slew of awards.
“It’s beyond commendable, it’s pretty heroic,” Howell said. “It surprises me that the government is holding that service, which most Americans have enormous respect for, against him.”
Like she did at Thursday's hearing, which was her first sentencing proceeding in a case tied to the Jan. 6 insurrection, Howell tried Friday to make sense of the government’s reasoning behind its suggested sentence for Gruppo. The chief judge has complained that there are vast disparities in the government’s sentencing recommendations for Capitol rioters, and she — along with many Americans — are confused.
“If he weren’t someone who served in four combat zones over 28 years, would that make a difference?” Howell asked. “If he hadn’t done that service, then the government wouldn’t recommend this sentence?”
Prosecutors replied that Gruppo went through extensive training and overlooked his oath to defend the U.S. Constitution.
“I’ll be honest, I don’t view his military service that way,” Howell said, but later told Gruppo, “Your lawyer noted that you will have an asterisk next to your military service and your many awards, and you will.”
Also on Friday, Howell sentenced Eric Chase Torrens to the same punishment that the judge gave his co-defendant Jack Griffith on Thursday: three years of probation and 90 days home detention.
Howell noted that Torrens, from Tennessee, wasn’t violent, spent minimal time in the Capitol, expressed remorse and didn’t post on social media.
“I made a bunch of mistakes that day,” Torrens told Howell. “I take responsibility for my conduct that day. I promise the court I won't be doing anything like that again.”
Prosecutors, referencing Torrens’ “gleeful” photo and video taken inside the Capitol, and his awareness of the chaos of his surroundings, had recommended a sentence of two weeks in jail.
Both Torrens and Gruppo had pleaded guilty to unlawful picketing, a misdemeanor charge that holds a maximum sentence of six months in prison.
Howell had been outspoken at Thursday's hearing that the lack of prison time recommended for most of the previously adjudicated Jan. 6 cases is “tying her hands” when it comes to sentencing rioters.
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Jan. 6 sentences April 19, 2024 -
