During a hearing on Friday in Washington, D.C., a federal judge questioned whether suspected Capitol rioters are being treated fairly.
According to CNN, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, who was nominated by previous President Trump, stated that the rioters were handled harder than rioters in D.C. last year after the murder of George Floyd.
According to the news site, McFadden stated that “the US Attorney’s Office would have more credibility if it was even-handed in its worry about rioting and mobs in the city.”
McFadden allegedly made the remarks during a sentencing hearing for Danielle Doyle, one of the accused Capitol rioters.
Doyle, who worked in ticket sales for the Oklahoma City Thunder from 2010 to 2020, pled guilty to illegally protesting within the Capitol in July. Her employees recognized her in a video from the disturbance and reported her to the FBI.
McFadden stated during the sentence that Doyle was acting “like all those looters and rioters last year,” according to the Associated Press.
“That’s because looters and rioters felt the law didn’t apply to them,” he said further.
Nonetheless, he called Doyle’s actions a “national shame” and said they “made us all feel less protected,” as reported by the Associated Press.
The remarks differ from what other federal judges in D.C. working on cases linked to the Capitol incident have stated about the defendants. More than 600 individuals have been accused in connection with the disturbances, which saw Trump supporters encircle the Capitol in an attempt to postpone the certification of the 2020 election.
After pleading guilty to parading in the Capitol, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton informed defendant Anthony Mariotto that he had “disgraced our country.”
“To witness someone destroying, or attempting to damage, the Capitol is really disturbing to me,” Walton added.
According to the Department of Justice’s database, Doyle was sentenced to two months probation. In addition, she will pay a $3,000 fine and $500 in restitution.
