'Embarrassed' Capitol Rioter Who Wore '(F**k) Your Feelings' Sweatshirt Sentenced

A Capitol riot defendant who traveled to Washington on Jan. 6 with his mother and stormed the U.S. Capitol while wearing a “(F**k) Your Feelings” sweatshirt was sentenced Wednesday to 30 days in prison.

Russell James Peterson was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who imposed a sentence more than twice as long as the two weeks of incarceration requested by federal prosecutors. Jackson said Peterson's own words, in which Peterson bragged about his conduct on Jan. 6, led to his decision. She particularly focused on his comment that he “had fun lol” on January 6.

“The 'lol' particularly stuck in my stomach, because as I hope you understood, nothing about January 6 was funny,” Jackson said. Police officers were injured, people lost their lives, property was damaged and stolen, Jackson said.

“It was sickening, it was horrible and it was completely inconsistent with what this country stands for, and I fear there will be permanent damage to what our democracy is supposed to be,” Jackson said, “and We don’t.” We don't know if this is repeatable or not, because we don't yet really know if things will return to the way they were or if a disorderly and violent reaction to the election is now an acceptable option for a large part of the population. »

Jackson said she sympathized with Peterson's time in the foster system and noted that he had a difficult life. Although it was not her role to judge Peterson's life, she said he overcame difficult obstacles and possessed admirable traits.

Peterson, in a letter to Jackson, wrote that he was “embarrassed and ashamed” of his conduct. In court, he apologized for his actions and said he wanted to “bear my cross and pay my debt.”

“He is ashamed of his behavior and has expressed a lot of remorse,” his lawyer Danielle Jahn told the judge. Jahn said he engaged in bravado on social media, falsely claiming he “smoked a blunt” at the Capitol.

“He didn’t smoke a joint in the Capitol,” Jahn said. Like former President Donald Trump, she said, Peterson lied on social media.

The FBI has arrested more than 675 people in connection with the January 6 attack, a figure that represents about a quarter of the total number of individuals who engaged in chargeable criminal acts that day, unlawfully entering the Capitol building or engaging in prosecution. in violence outside the building. The FBI is still searching for more than 350 members of the pro-Trump mob who engaged in violence, including more than 250 still wanted for assaulting law enforcement.

Jackson said Peterson, unlike many of the Jan. 6 defendants and participants in the Capitol attack, actually thought about his actions and made changes.

“A lot of people haven’t learned anything,” Jackson said.

This article was originally published on HuffPost and has been updated.

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