Capitol rioter Robert Palmer, who hurled wood planks and a fire extinguisher at police officers, was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison Friday, the longest penalty imposed on a January 6th defendant.
“It has to be made clear … trying to stop the peaceful transition of power and assaulting law enforcement officers is going to be met with absolutely certain punishment,” said U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan. “There are going to be consequences. I’m not making an example of you. I’m sentencing you for the conduct you did.”
“Look behind you. Those are U.S. marshals. They ran from this courthouse. They put themselves in danger to protect the occupants of the Capitol. That’s what they’re sworn to do. They’re the patriots. The people working in the Capitol that night, they are patriots. Doing what they get paid to do, they didn’t know if they were going to come out of there alive that night.”
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to Robert Palmer
Before he was sentenced, Palmer, 54, wept and told Chutkan he was “really, really ashamed.” The Florida resident said he saw footage of himself attacking law enforcement on The Rachel Maddow Show and was “horrified.” He promised never to attend another political rally.
HuffPost provides background on his capture:
Robert Scott Palmer, who was nicknamed #FloridaFlagJacket by online sleuths investigating the Capitol attack, was arrested by the FBI just 12 days after he was named in a HuffPost story in March. Hours after attacking cops with a fire extinguisher, Palmer proceeded to give his name and his hometown to a livestreamer at the Capitol.
When HuffPost called Palmer after being tipped off by an online sleuths, the Florida man said the Biden administration was trying to “vilify the patriots” who took part in the Capitol attack. He hung up when asked about the fire extinguisher, took down his Facebook page, hired a lawyer, and turned himself in shortly thereafter. He pleaded guilty in October, and has been locked up in D.C. jail since that time.
Palmer and his lawyers argued that his violent actions were influenced by substance abuse issues, depression, and an abusive childhood. In a letter to Chutkan, Palmer said “Trump supporters were lied to by those that at the time had great power meaning the sitting President. They kept spitting out the false narrative about a stolen election and how it was ‘our duty’ to stand up to tyranny.”
Chutkan said Friday that she sympathized with Palmer, but said a recent social media post indicated that he had not fully taken responsibility for his actions.
“None of us are the worst things we’ve ever done,” she told Palmer, adding “I hope you continue to consider other sources of information as you go forward.”