Judge Amy Berman Jackson has long been a critic of the former president and she’s also been heavily involved in deciding the fate of insurrection defendants. The latest case seem to draw particular ire from the longtime federal jurist.
Judge Jackson had sharp words for Karl Dresch, who has spent the last six months behind bars for his role in the capitol riot. Dresch has said he was a being prosecuted because of his political views. She called Dresch an “enthusiastic participant” in the insurrection and in the effort “to subvert democracy, to stop the will of the people and replace it with the will of the mob.”
Judge Jackson: “The defendant did not spend six months in jail because he is a political prisoner. He was not prosecuted for his political views,” Jackson said. “The defendant came to the Capitol because he placed his trust in someone who repaid that trust by lying to him.”
She added—
“You call yourself a patriot? That’s not patriotism. Patriotism is loyalty to country, loyalty to the Constitution, not loyalty to a single head of state.”
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson
CNN writes:
Dresch, 41, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of illegally demonstrating in the Capitol building, which has become a typical plea deal that the Justice Department has offered to nonviolent rioters who did not go far into the building. Jackson sentenced Dresch to six months in jail. He will be released Wednesday because he has been in jail since mid-January and will receive credit for time already served.
It should be noted that six months was the maximum allowed sentence for the misdemeanor.