As the federal court in Washington, DC, hunkered down for Donald Trump’s expected appearance later today, a sentencing hearing was underway this morning for a man charged in connection with the January 6 insurrection.
District Judge Randolph Moss addressed Trump’s appearance as he began the hearing for Jeffrey Grace, a Proud Boy from Washington state who pleaded guilty to illegally entering and remaining in the US Capitol building with his son on January 6, 2021.
“Nothing that is going on in the courthouse will have any bearings on what I decide today,” Moss said. Later on, the judge sentenced Grace to 75 days behind bars.
Moss urged lawyers for both the government and Grace not to rush through the proceeding in an effort to leave the courthouse before Trump arrives.
“I recognize that other things happening in the courthouse today are garnering public attention,” Moss said to the attorneys, adding that Grace’s sentencing is his “sole focus.”
There are several additional proceedings for Capitol riot defendants scheduled to take place in the courthouse Thursday, including a father and son from South Carolina accused of breaching the Capitol and a Florida man who, according to prosecutors, texted someone on January 6: “Loved every minute of it dude.”
While Judge Amit Mehta did not say anything about the Trump-related court proceedings at the courthouse during the sentencing of the Florida man, Richard Escalera, he called the attack on the US Capitol a “dark day in the nation’s history.”
Mehta also said there “continues to be concerns” to this day.
Mehta sentenced Escalera to seven days of incarceration and two years of probation.
The judge has presided over several January 6 cases, including several of the Oath Keepers. During Thursday’s hearing, he said he has tried to stay consistent among the sentences he has imposed.
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