Former Police Officer Becomes Second January 6 Defendant Convicted — on All Counts

And then there were two. A now-former police officer from Virginia became the second January 6 defendant found guilty for his role in the  Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Riot. Thomas Robertson was convicted on all six charges against him after a jury reached a verdict on Monday.

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A jury, on April 5, found Trump supporter Guy Reffitt guilty of all five charges he faced.

Robertson, who was arrested in January 2021, was found guilty of “obstruction of an official proceeding, civil disorder, violent entry and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and entering and remaining on restricted grounds while carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon,” as reported by NBC News.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Risa Berkower, noted NBC, told the court Robertson joined a “violent, vigilante mob” and “decided to take matters into his own hands” because he did not like the outcome of the election.

This defendant was part of the problem,” the prosecutor said, adding that Robertson “decided to take matters into his own hands to get what he wanted” because he didn’t like the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

This defendant gleefully put himself in the thick of the initial round of rioters who set off hours of chaos inside the Capitol. On Jan. 6, he seized the moment. He was in the midst of an angry mob, and together they all wanted the same thing.

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While many of the numbers — number of participants arrested, the number still held, additional suspects identified, etc. — remain sketchy, here are a few stats, per NBC:

Nearly 800 people have been arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, and almost 250 have pleaded guilty. In addition to the two jury trials, two Jan. 6 defendants have resolved their cases through bench trials, including a defendant who was acquitted on all charges last week.

Hundreds more suspects have been successfully identified by online sleuths but have not yet been arrested by the FBI. More than 2,500 people entered the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack, and hundreds more assaulted law enforcement officers outside the building.

So what of the Jan. 6 defendants still being held without charges?

My colleague Leslie McAdoo Gordon reported on one defendant in March who was illegally detained and locked up for more than 80 days with no indictment. Estimates of the number of similar cases vary from less than 40 to 76, but even one is too many in America.

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While the Justice Department estimates between 2,000 and 2,500 people entered the Capitol on January 6, NBC alleged that “hundreds more assaulted law enforcement officers outside the building.”

The bottom line: And so it continues. Justice in America should be swift, certain, and fair. From Day One of the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, that has not been the case. While the Democrat Party would no doubt relish continuing the January 6 commission until the 2024 election — and beyond, if Trump runs and wins in 2024 — the Justice System must do its job without political bias. Then again, I’m not even a biologist.

Is that the case, here? I report, you decide.

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