A new report suggests that the punishment for an assault on our democracy depends on who’s doing the assaulting.
On Friday, as President Joe Biden was cheered by a friendly Pennsylvania crowd after announcing defendants collared for involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol have received a collective 840 years in prison, The Washington Times reported that left-wing violence goes nearly unpunished.
The Times analyzed cases of suspects from Antifa and Black Lives Matter who attacked a federal courthouse in Portland during the summer of 2020 following the death of George Floyd in police custody—the Times compared those cases to how the feds treated the J6 protesters.
Overall, the Times reviewed 93 cases filed in the first 18 months after the Portland riots ignited.
Read: Florida Resort Cancels Georgia Rep. MTG’s Book-Signing After Dems Sell It As J6 Celebration
Just 15 of those ended with the defendants being found guilty.
One case was dismissed because the defendant died before it ended, another suspect failed to appear, and the feds dismissed five cases to defer to state prosecutors. One other case was closed without a final resolution being reported.
That left 70 cases that were dismissed without a trial or a plea.
“Compare that with the Jan. 6 defendants,” the Times reported. “Justice Department records show that more than 1,230 people have been arrested. Of those, about 440 were charged with felonies such as assaulting or impeding a law enforcement officer — much the same conduct as in Portland.”
“In the Jan. 6 cases, just two cases have been dismissed, five ended when the defendant died and four defendants were ‘on the run,’” the Times noted, citing a database compiled by Seton Hall University. The rest of the defendants are either awaiting trial or sentencing or have already been sentenced.
“The department documents show that not one Jan. 6 defendant has been offered a diversion agreement, in which cases are dismissed if a defendant meets terms such as performing community service,” the Times added.
Read: Florida Rep. Byron Donalds Says Biden Investigation Will Expose “Biggest Scandal” In U.S. History
President Joe Biden’s Justice Department declined to comment, but in court records, the feds rejected any comparisons to the two situations, the Times noted.
“It said the Portland rioters acted at night when the courthouse was closed for business. The Capitol, while closed to the public, was in the middle of important business: the Electoral College vote certification to facilitate the transfer of presidential power,” the Times reported of the department’s excuse.
The paper did point out that at least one federal judge seemed concerned about the leniency shown to the Portland thugs.
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, while agreeing with the feds’ night-versus-day rationale, also noted of the Portland cases in court records, “Rarely has the Government shown so little interest in vigorously prosecuting those who attack federal officers,” adding that the dismissals in Oregon are “a troubling theme.”
To highlight the discrepancy, the Times reported that one J6er went to prison for seven years for hitting a cop with a plastic shield; however, in Portland, a rioter who committed the same offense ended up with a diversion agreement, and her charges were dropped once she finished community service.
In another example, the Times reported that the longest sentences in Portland included two years for a defendant who bashed a deputy U.S. marshal in the back with a baseball bat, four years for one who swung a 4-pound hammer at a deputy marshal’s head; and ten years for a third who faced two counts of possessing explosives.
Meanwhile, former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years for “seditious conspiracy,” even though he was not in Washington as the J6 riot occurred.
Read: Jonathan Turley Rebuts Biden’s ‘Assault On Democracy’ Speech In Pennsylvania
Despite liberals’ endless cries about the J6 “insurrection,” William Olson, a lawyer who aided some of the rioters, noted to the Times that federal prosecutors have not filed a single charge against any J6er for the federal crime of insurrection.
Which suggests an ulterior motive.
Brandon Straka, a supporter of former President Donald Trump who pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was sentenced to probation for cheering on the J6 rioters, told the Times, “Jan. 6 cases are being handled completely differently than other cases which are in many circumstances much worse. It’s all in an effort to malign Donald Trump supporters and Donald Trump.”
Federal prosecutors, he added, are “creating evidence that doesn’t exist to substantiate their narrative about how dangerous Trump and his supporters are.”
Android Users, Click To Download The Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for our free newsletter.
We can’t do this without your help. Visit our GiveSendGo page and donate any dollar amount; every penny helps.