Top Jan. 6 federal judge slams DOJ for treating 'crime of the century' as some 'petty offense'

Judge Beryl Howell, the chief judge of the federal District Court in Washington, D.C., sentenced Jan. 6 rioter Jack Griffith to three years of probation on Thursday, but she clearly wasn't happy about it. Prosecutors had requested three months in jail for the crime Griffith pleaded guilty to, "parading" — or demonstrating inside of the Capitol — but Howell said her "hands are tied" because prosecutors had requested probation for other defendants who pleaded guilty to similarly light second-tier misdemeanors.

"Probation should not be the norm," Howell said. "In all my years on the bench, I've never been in this position before, and it's all due to the government, despite calling this the crime of the century, resolving it with a . . . petty offense" that would normally be resolved with a $50 fine. Even the government's $500 fines for most Jan. 6 defendants are excessively lenient, she said, noting they would only raise as much as $300,000 of the $500 million taxpayers will shell out to secure the Capitol.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.