A Capitol riot defendant said he was a victim of discrimination — but a judge just slapped down his claim

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28 December 2021

Judge loses patience with Capitol riot defendant — and his attorney as well

A man who is facing charges in the January 6th riots at the United States Capitol tried to argue that he was being selectively prosecuted for his political beliefs.

However, his claims on Tuesday were dismissed by Trump-appointed Judge Trevor McFadden.

In his ruling, McFadden took apart defendant David Lee Judd, who complained that he was being prosecuted while some people who rioted in Portland, Oregon in 2020 have had criminal charges against them dismissed.

While McFadden did fault the government for dropping some of the charges against Portland rioters, he nonetheless found that Judd's claim that this amounted to selective prosecution did not hold up given the differences in the cases.

"For any of these discrepancies to matter, however, Judd must show that the Portland defendants are similarly situated to him," the judge wrote. "He cannot do so. Although both Portland and January 6 rioters attacked federal buildings, the Portland defendants primarily attacked at night, meaning that they raged against a largely vacant courthouse. In contrast, the January 6 rioters attacked the Capitol in broad daylight. And many entered it. Thousands of congressional staffers walked the Capitol’s corridors that day. So did hundreds of legislators and the Vice President, all of whom appeared for a constitutionally mandated proceeding."

Read the full ruling here (PDF).

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