Reagan-appointed judge warns GOP's 'preposterous' claims about Jan. 6 could pose threat

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

WASHINGTON — A Republican-appointed federal judge who has served on the bench for 37 years slammed prominent politicians for their "preposterous" claims about how the courts have handled Jan. 6 cases and their attempts to "rewrite history" about the U.S. Capitol attack, saying such rhetoric could foreshadow future far-right violence.

Senior U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, appointed to the bench by former President Ronald Reagan in 1987, said at a resentencing hearing Thursday that he is "shocked" at how prominent political figures have talked about the convicted criminals who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, calling the politicians' remarks "preposterous" and warning that such rhetoric "could presage further danger to our country."

While Lamberth did not refer to the politicians by name, he used quotations from Reps. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga. (who said rioters behaved "in an orderly fashion" like tourists), Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. (who called Jan. 6 inmates "political prisoners&quot , and Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. (who, echoing former President Donald Trump, called Jan. 6 criminals "hostages&quot . In 2022, the Republican National Committee passed a resolution referring to the events of Jan. 6 as "legitimate political discourse."

"The Court is accustomed to defendants who refuse to accept that they did anything wrong. But in my thirty-seven years on the bench, I cannot recall a time when such meritless justifications of criminal activity have gone mainstream," Lamberth said, according to his prepared remarks.

"I have been dismayed to see distortions and outright falsehoods seep into the public consciousness,” Lamberth continued before he issued a stark warning: "The Court fears that such destructive, misguided rhetoric could presage further danger to our country."

/SNIP
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/reagan-appointed-judge-warns-gops-preposterous-claims-jan-6-pose-threa-rcna135754

worth the read.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

1. kicking for visaiility

[Hermit-The-Prog]

2. GOP, Fox, and RW radio have selected for extremism and reality denial.

If you can get people to deny reality, it makes it easier to establish a dictatorship.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

3. +100

[jaxexpat]

4. If he feels so strongly, perhaps at some point..........

he'll explain why the perps and their masters are still free to spread these lies after over 3 years to put them in jail.
He won't explain it or even publicly admit it but we all know why. The Republican party owns the corruption and the shameful behavior because they invented Fox and Rush where propaganda and its support of incivility became and remains an art form.

[Martin Eden]

5. Why is stating the obvious, awful truth so rare

Among conservatives, and even the mainstream media?

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. Reagan-appointed judge slams GOP's 'preposterous' Jan. 6 rhetoric

Some of the most notable commentary on Jan. 6 and Republican efforts to rewrite history has come, oddly enough, from the federal judiciary.

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/reagan-appointed-judge-slams-gops-preposterous-jan-6-rhetoric-rcna135816

“I’m especially troubled by the accounts of some members of Congress that January 6 was just a day of tourists walking through the Capitol,” Lamberth said in June 2021. “I don’t know what planet they were on. ... This was not a peaceful demonstration. It was not an accident that it turned violent; it was intended to halt the very functioning of our government.”

Nearly three years later, the conservative judge is still at it. NBC News reported:

Senior U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, appointed to the bench by former President Ronald Reagan in 1987, said at a resentencing hearing Thursday that he is “shocked” at how prominent political figures have talked about the convicted criminals who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, calling the politicians’ remarks “preposterous” and warning that such rhetoric “could presage further danger to our country.”

While he did not mention any Republicans by name, the judge specifically referenced radical rhetoric from a variety of GOP members of Congress, including Reps. Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, and Elise Stefanik of New York, who recently referred to Jan. 6 criminals as “hostages.”.....

Lamberth’s assessment was important, but I’m pleased to report he’s not the only member of the federal judiciary telling the truth about Jan. 6, whether defendants or their Republican champions want to hear it or not.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

7. A federal judge sounded the alarm Thursday over "destructive" efforts to downplay the violence and danger of Jan. 6.

Link to tweet