Judge slams Trump, sentences Mich. man in Jan. 6 riot to time served
A federal judge Wednesday assailed the false claims of election fraud pushed by former President Donald Trump and his supporters as she sentenced a member of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 to time served, saying the Michigan man “placed his trust in someone who repaid that trust by lying to him.”
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson told Karl Dresch, a Calumet resident, that he was an “enthusiastic participant” in an effort to subvert the will of the voters. But the judge said a deal with prosecutors allowing him to plead guilty to a misdemeanor was appropriate because he didn’t hurt anyone or destroy anything at the Capitol.
Dresch, who has been locked up since his arrest in January, is being released from jail since he already served the six-month maximum sentence for the misdemeanor offense.
Later Wednesday, two other Jan. 6 defendants — a Virginia couple who likewise pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges — were also sentenced and avoided jail time. Jessica Bustle was ordered to serve two months in home confinement and her husband, Joshua Bustle, received one month home confinement. They will each serve two years of probation.
The three are among more than 500 people charged in the riot that sent lawmakers into hiding and disrupted the certification of President Joe Biden’s election win. About 30 defendants have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanor charges. The first defendant sentenced for a felony — a Florida man who breached the Senate chamber while carrying a Trump campaign flag — received eight months behind bars.
Dresch posted photos and videos on social media that were taken inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, which he described in one message as the “best day ever,” according to court documents.
Jackson, who also slammed Republicans downplaying the Jan. 6 violence, called Dresch’s views “misguided,” noting that judge after judge smacked down Trump’s claims of election fraud.
“At the end of the day, the fact is that the defendant came to the Capitol because he placed his trust in someone who repaid that trust by lying to him,” the judge said.