A former police officer had his criminal sentence reduced by 15 months on Wednesday by a federal judge as part of his role in the riots at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Politico reported that the reduced sentence is the direct results of the recent ruling the Supreme Court handed down that limited the scope of one of the obstruction charges that prosecutors used against hundreds of Capitol rioters.
Christopher Cooper, the judge in U.S. District Court overseeing the case, sentenced Thomas Robertson to 72 months in prison. Robertson, who is a former police officer, received an original sentence of 87 months behind bars two years ago.
But, this new sentence came following prosecutors dropping the one obstruction charge they had originally levied against Robertson.
On Wednesday, Cooper said this decision didn’t reflect him changing his mind on the seriousness of the crimes Robertson committed, as he emphasized that he believed the January 6 riot was “not hyperbole — it was real harm.”
He added, though, that he “struggled” to maintain the original sentence after the ruling from the Supreme Court.
Prosecutors tried to urge the judge to keep the original 87-month sentence in place, arguing it was an accurate reflection of the gravity of the offenses, despite the ruling from the Supreme Court.
Elizabeth Aloi, an assistant U.S. attorney, argued:
“[The] damage done to the country must not be treated as just another crime.”
She added Robertson was prepared to start a “rebellion and attack the nation’s democracy. … His offense targeted the peaceful transfer of power. There’s no reason to second guess that decision.”
On January 6, 2021, Robertson went to Washington, D.C., along with Jacob Fracker, another officer who pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy.
At the time, the two officers who served in Rocky Mount, Virginia, were not on duty.
Before the two officers attended a rally near the Washington Monument that preceded the riot at the Capitol building, they left their firearms and police badges in the car.
Robertson was wearing a gas mask and wielding a wooden stick as he stormed into the Capitol.
A few months earlier, Robertson had posted on Facebook that he spent his life “fighting a counter insurgency,” but that he was soon to become part of a “very effective one.”
Prosecutors painted a picture of Robertson as a leader who recruited two people to the cause and organized parts of the attacks. They said he even dressed for a riot and then destroyed both his phone and Fracker’s to try to bury evidence.
They added that the actions Robertson took affected their investigation and prevented them from charging a third person who was also involved.
Aloi cited concerns that Cooper had during the original 2022 sentencing. At the time, the judge said that it was possible that Robertson could engage in calls of violence in the future because he lacked remorse for his actions.
In quoting the sentencing remarks that the judge made in 2022, Aloi said of Robertson:
“He was not a bystander. He was a willing participant. He had an oath to uphold.”
