A federal judge lambasted a man who participated in the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, telling him he “disgraced this country in the eyes of the world,” according to POLITICO.
Anthony Mariotto, a Florida resident, pled guilty on Friday to parading or protesting in the Capitol, a misdemeanor. Mariotto didn’t participate in the violent uprising, but he illegally entered the Senate Chamber, took a selfie, and posted it on Facebook. According to court documents, Mariotto later deleted his Facebook account, but not before a concerned citizen saved a copy of the selfie and passed it along to the FBI.
“My inclination would be to lock you up, but since the government isn’t asking me to do that … I won’t,” said U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton via a virtual hearing. Walton, a George W. Bush appointee, grew visibly angry as he lectured Mariotto. “It was an attack on our government, and I love my government. This government has been good to me. To see somebody destroy, or try to destroy, the Capitol is very troubling to me.”
He added, “I find it outrageous that American citizens would do what you did, so you better walk the straight and narrow, sir, you understand?”
“I do, your honor,” Mariotto replied.
Walton said that he often does consulting work for foreign governments on judicial and legal affairs, but the events of January 6th impacts his credibility as an American to offer advice on those issues.
“America was not great on that day and I’m sure when I go to other jurisdictions to say how they can be like America, they’ll say: ‘Why should I want to be like America when you all are trying to tear down your own country.’ I find it very troubling.”
Walton added, “What if the next time around, the Democrats lose the presidency and start a riot? I guess you think that would be all right, in light of what you did, right?”
“No,” Mariotto said.
POLITICO adds:
Judges routinely comment on the gravity of crimes committed by defendants found guilty, but the attack on the Capitol has put them in a unique position to provide a daily, running commentary on an investigation that has consumed Washington for months.
In August, Judge Amy Berman Jackson ripped Capitol riot defendant Karl Dresch, saying “You called yourself and everyone else patriots, but that’s not patriotism. Patriotism is loyalty to country, loyalty to the Constitution, not loyalty to a head of state. That is the tyranny we rejected on July 4.”
