Sorry, Sorry: Some 1/6 Mobs Change Songs After Apologizing

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former West Virginia lawmaker Derrick Evans dismayed his family and community by appearing before a federal judge after pleading guilty to felony charges in a deadly Capitol riot. He expressed remorse and said he had made a “grave mistake.”

Less than a year later, Evans has rushed to the same building he raided on January 6, 2021, portraying himself as the victim of a politically motivated indictment. Evans now calls his Jan. 6 indictment of the Justice Department a “miscarriage.” justice,” and describes himself as a “J6 Patriot” on Twitter.

“Some people say that if I want to win the election, I need to apologize and condemn #J6 because the media will attack me,” he said, adding that he plans to bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2024. After making the announcement, he recently tweeted, “I will not compromise my values. Or my beliefs. That’s what politicians do. We need patriots, not politicians.”

Evans joins a series of Jan. 6 defendants — as they face possible jail time in court — who regret joining the pro-Trump mob that has rattled the foundations of American democracy. and struck a different tone or downplayed the riot after receiving their sentence.

The first defendant, who was convicted on Jan. 6, apologized in court and appeared on Fox News Channel shortly thereafter, apparently minimizing the riot. Another defendant, who called it “remember,” later wore an orange jumpsuit and played the part of a distraught prisoner in a bizarre tribute to the Capitol mob imprisoned during a conservative meeting.

Some defendants have drawn ire from judges and the Justice Department for inconsistent comments. And since some conservatives have defended his January 6 defendant as a martyr, political and perhaps financial reasons may cause conservatives to change their minds.

Judges may begin to impose harsher penalties on mobs that have not yet closed criminal cases. Even before Evans’ sentencing, the judge who heard his case issued a mob apology after feeling he had been duped by another defendant, saying he was “too familiar with alligator tears.” began to question the sincerity of

In some cases, judges have questioned whether they should vacate a defendant’s conviction or take a plea bargain after making public statements that appear to go against what they said in court.Friday, US District Court Judge Amit Mehta told the newspaper after he told a convicted Illinois man this week that he had agreed to participate in the riot in court and did not actually think he had committed it. , ordered the judge to explain why the conviction should not be revoked. crime for which he was charged.

before being sentenced last June 3 months behind jail Evans, on the civil disorder charge, said he regrets his actions every day, telling Senior Judge Lois Lamberth that he was “a good person who unfortunately got caught up in it too quickly.”

Shortly after, the prosecutor wrote to the judge about several statements Evans had made on the radio program that were “inconsistent with the repentance” he indicated in his sentencing. When asked if he had any regrets, he said on the show that he regretted the “situation” he was in.

In a statement emailed to The Associated Press, Evans said he still stands by what he said in court.

“That was my message to the judge. This is my message to the media. It’s time to tell the true story of what happened to me personally that day.

Evans said he lost “almost everything” because of the Jan. 6 decision, including his job as a state delegate and time with his children. he asked. However, he said he was “finished being portrayed as a villain” when he wasn’t, said he didn’t pass a police officer and was only inside the Capitol for 10 minutes.

In determining the appropriate sentencing, judges usually take into consideration whether the accused is responsible for their actions and genuinely sorry. In several January 6 cases, judges accused the defendants of failing to show genuine remorse even before they were sentenced.

lawyer for Trenis Evans IIITaking a sip of whiskey in the parliamentary chamber during the riot, he told the judge in court papers that Evans was “deeply remorseful and duly repentant.” But even though Evans said in his November sentencing that he blamed the January 6 defendant for what happened that day after suggesting he had been wronged, the judge said: He said he did not believe he had shown “complete and genuine remorse.”

Months after being sentenced to 20 days in prison, a Texas man traveled to South Dakota to urge state legislators to support a Jan. 6 resolution urging “humane and fair treatment” of defendants. I worked on The resolution was unanimously rejected.

The first January 6 defendant to receive her sentence, Anna Morgan-Lloydtold Lambers she was ashamed of her “barbaric display of violence” in the Capitol before she was sentenced to probation. But shortly after, the Indiana woman told Fox News host Laura Ingraham, He said people were “very polite” during the riot and saw a “relaxed” police officer chatting with the rioters.

Lambert doesn’t seem to have forgotten that. The judge wrote in court papers that he hoped another defendant’s “change of heart” was sincere. In another case, he wrote that “the sincerity is often difficult to ascertain” in the defendants’ reflections on January 6.

“Many defendants have served their sentences in good faith, boasting of their deep shame, regret, and desire to change and be law-abiding citizens,” Lamberth wrote. The court is familiar with crocodile tears.”

Morgan-Lloyd’s attorneys say they believe their client was genuinely remorseful and “played” by Ingraham and sent a letter to the judge after a televised interview. When contacted by the Associated Press, a lawyer for Morgan Lloyd said the woman would not comment.

after him escaped imprisonment In the Jan. 6 incident, right-wing activist Brandon Straka wore an orange jumpsuit and a red MAGA cap, sat in a fake cell, and allegedly robbed attendees of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas last August. I cried when I performed for the march. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, a Republican from Georgia, entered the cage and hugged Straka before appearing to pray together.

A few months ago, Straka, who could have been imprisoned on his head, described January 6 as “just an incredibly shameful day with absolutely no positives.”

“I am sorry that I was somehow present at an event that did nothing but terrorize people, bring shame and embarrassment to our country, and further tear apart the already painful divisions in this country.” country,” he wrote in a letter to Federal District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich, who was sentenced to 36 months’ probation.

An email was sent to Straka from the State of Nebraska requesting comment. He said CPAC’s performance was “intended to provoke reactions about political divisions, human rights violations and more”, and accused critics of trying to “criminalize art”.

After sentencing, the judge questioned whether he wanted to withdraw his guilty plea and was charged with making false statements due to public comments she said seemed to contradict what he said in court. said it could be done.

A written criminal statement that Straka agreed to be right under his plea bargain states that he screamed. take it! ‘ while filming another person trying to take a police officer’s shield. Straka later told Fox News host Tucker Carlson that he never made such comments to his lawyers. He suggested that he admitted to doing so because he was under pressure to make the deal.