March 15, 2024 11:44 AM UTC
9 Feedback- by: Colorado Pols
If you happen to’re within the neighborhood subsequent Tuesday night of Colorado Springs’ Fervent Church, which we’re advised amply lives as much as their title, GOP Rep. Scott “There Is No” Bottoms is headlining an occasion hosted by the (once more, they decide these names) Spunky Patriots, that includes a person by the title of Tom Hamner–there to inform his “Story of a J6 Patriot”:
A seek for Tom Hamner’s contributions to society aside from battling law enforcement officials in the course of the January sixth, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol doesn’t flip up a lot, so we’re left to the official report. Right here’s what the U.S. Legal professional for Washington, D.C. mentioned about Hamner’s actions on that day, and his subsequent felony responsible plea:
In keeping with court docket paperwork, on Jan. 6, 2021, Hamner illegally entered the West Garden of the U.S. Capitol, which was barricaded with fencing. Upon seeing rioters break by means of the police line, Hamner hopped over the barricades and commenced pulling them down. At roughly 1 p.m., a crowd of violent rioters assembled on the West Plaza of the Capitol. U.S. Capitol Police shaped a line of motorbike racks to behave as a barrier in opposition to the group. Officers fended off repeated makes an attempt by these within the mob to drag on the bike racks, both with their palms or with ropes and straps. At roughly 1:14 p.m., Hamner engaged with a tug-of-war with a Capitol Police officer and an officer from the Metropolitan Police Division over a motorcycle rack that was getting used as a barricade.
Moreover, at roughly 1:40 p.m., Hamner joined others within the mob in pushing a big steel signal into the line of defense shaped by regulation enforcement officers.
Hamner was arrested on Nov. 9, 2021, in Colorado Springs. He later was indicted on a complete of six costs, together with 5 felonies. He pleaded responsible on Could 17, 2022, to one of many felony costs, interfering with regulation enforcement officers throughout a civil dysfunction.
There’s a lot of video of Mr. Hamner mixing it up with U.S. Capitol Police in the course of the hours-long melee on the steps exterior the constructing:
And right here’s Hamner preventing with D.C. cops over a barricade that clearly wasn’t going to dissuade him:
In September of 2022, Tom Hamner was sentenced to 30 months in federal jail for his “patriotic” acts of violence to delay the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory by Congress. It’s a comparatively harsh sentence compared to many others who acquired sentences of days to weeks for much less violent participation within the January sixth riot. KRDO-TV defined why:
“He did go to the rally, he was by himself. He didn’t enter the Capitol, he didn’t trigger any injury. He didn’t steal something. He didn’t have any altercations with anyone,” Steffany [Hamner] mentioned.
However images picked up by the FBI appear to point out a distinct story. A prison grievance accuses Hamner of pushing a barrier into capitol police and preventing with officers.
The U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace has beforehand mentioned there are longer jail phrases for insurrectionists who engaged in violence. [Pols emphasis]
So what we’ve got right here isn’t just a participant within the January sixth, 2021, however one of many extra violent particular person offenders who fought with police on the steps exterior the constructing whereas tons of extra stormed inside by means of damaged home windows and doorways. There are many arguably extra sympathetic instances that Rep. Bottoms may have trotted out, however as a substitute he needs us to listen to from one of many least sympathetic. To not point out that since Hamner was sentenced to 2 and a half years in jail in November of 2022, if he’s on the skin telling his sob story of persecution after preventing with cops on January sixth at the moment, meaning he didn’t serve wherever shut to his full sentence of 30 months in jail. Incarcerated since his arrest in November of 2021, it seems that Hamner had about six months shaved off his sentence.
With all of this in thoughts, no person needs to be below any delusions that there shall be any form of contrition from this convicted felon subsequent Tuesday. Most if not all current will doubtless consider together with a majority of Republicans that Donald Trump ought to nonetheless be President regardless of no determinative proof of election fraud in 2020 having ever emerged. At this occasion, Tom Hamner’s violent acts on January sixth, 2021 shall be celebrated, not condemned, with a sitting Republican state lawmaker cheering it on.
Within the days instantly following January sixth, 2021, when Republicans and Democrats stood collectively to sentence the violence, this could have appeared unthinkable. However inside weeks as Republicans got here crawling again to Trump, it grew to become inevitable. At this time, with Trump unthinkably as soon as once more the Republican nominee for President, the normalization of even essentially the most violent offenders of the January sixth riot is the subsequent essential step.