“I take it, from what you’re saying, is that the government does not acknowledge any responsibility in the confusion in some parts of the public about whether it was just a protest on Jan. 6,” Howell continued.
In response, Justice Department attorneys emphasized that they consider much of the conduct on Jan. 6 to amount to domestic terrorism. “To the extent our charges may have created any confusion, I apologize,” Pearce said. “Whether it has, I don’t know.”
Howell has, for months, criticized DOJ for what she calls an inconsistency between the department’s rhetoric about the Jan. 6 attack and the actual charges it has leveled against hundreds of defendants.
She noted that plea deals for “picketing” reduce the criminal conduct to simply overzealous protesting and don’t require defendants to acknowledge that their conduct contributed to disrupting the peaceful transfer of power, as well as terrorizing the vice president, members of Congress, their staffs, the media and family members who were present for the ceremony.
She worried aloud that former President Donald Trump’s continued rhetoric about the 2020 election — aided by allies who minimize the attack on Jan. 6 — could inspire those who breached the Capitol a year ago to commit further criminal acts in his name. The RNC has denied that its use of the term “legitimate political discourse” was a reference to the Capitol breach or the violence that occurred that day, though the resolution drew no distinction between the attack and those who merely raised doubts about the integrity of the 2020 election.
Noting Trump’s ongoing attacks on the election, Howell pressed Stenz’s attorney, Joseph Marrone, on whether Stenz still subscribes to the belief that the election was stolen. She said this was a factor in “assessing his risk of repeat conduct.”
Marrone insisted that Stenz has forsworn politics for good.
Stenz followed the mob into the Capitol despite observing violence and destruction outside the building. He acknowledged seeing people climbing the scaffolding that had been set up for President Joe Biden’s inauguration and scaling the exterior of the Capitol. Howell expressed particular alarm that Stenz pressed forward despite witnessing this chaos and followed the mob into the private office of Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), which was trashed by others who had broken in.
Howell also wondered whether Stenz was truthful with the FBI about his conduct when they interviewed him about the Capitol breach. She noted that he traveled to Washington, D.C., with a friend and spent the whole day with that friend, but he told the FBI he didn’t know the person’s last name. DOJ indicated that it had identified Stenz’s companion without his help and was working toward charging that person.
Stenz expressed remorse for his behavior and said he had gotten caught up in the behavior of the crowd.
“What happened at the Capitol building was not a protest,” he said.
Howell ultimately sentenced him to 36 months of probation, 14 days in jail and two months of home detention.
In the sentencing hearing for Lollis, the Justice Department revealed that six days after the attack, he texted with a relative about reports that Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s laptop had been stolen. In response, Lollis texted, “Hang the whore.”
Lollis, addressing Howell, repeatedly apologized for his actions that day, including for affixing a “Fuck antifa” sticker to a wall in the Capitol’s Senate wing. He also apologized to the Capitol and D.C. police officers who faced physical and psychological repercussions. Lollis also said he had been cast out by some conservative associates as a “traitor” for taking a plea deal.
Pressed by Howell about whether he believes Trump’s continued rhetoric about the 2020 election being stolen, Lollis said he had exposed himself to new information and that he never fully embraced those lies in the first place but wanted further investigation.“I wish I had never made the trip to D.C.,” he said.