Jan 6th insurrectionist and all around asshole Robert Palmer of Florida was sentenced to the longest prison term so far: 63 months. For those that cannot keep track of all the scumbags who stormed the Capitol Building and tried to overturn the election results and overthrow our democracy, Palmer assaulted Capitol police officers. And Palmer did plead guilty to the eight charges he was hit with.
But:
Robert Palmer, 54, of Tampa, was charged with repeatedly assaulting police officers on the Capitol's Lower West Terrace. Prosecutors said he threw a wooden plank the police, then picked up a fire extinguisher and sprayed its contents at a line of officers, throwing the canister at them after it was empty.
A few minutes later, prosecutors said, he picked up the fire extinguisher and threw it at them a second time and assaulted another group of officers with a metal pole, throwing it like a spear. He stopped the attack when an officer shot him in the abdomen with a rubber bullet…
His lawyer, Bjorn Brunvand, said Palmer deserved a reduction in sentence because he took responsibility for his actions. But prosecutors said he showed a lack of remorse in a misleading social media posting that solicited support after he pleaded guilty.
The posting said he acted in self-defense — that he threw fire extinguisher only after he was shot with the non-lethal round. Palmer admitted during Friday's hearing that his claim of self-defense was false.
Chutkan said his conduct showed a lack of remorse. "The posting of the false statement indicated at the time after he pleaded guilty that he was still denying his culpability for the offense."
And Palmer put on a show for the judge when he entered his guilty plea:
Before his court hearing, Palmer displayed a different bearing than the man captured in images from the riot – sobbing onto the shoulder of his defense attorney Bjorn Brunvand moments before the two men entered the court for Palmer to plead guilty to felony assault on law enforcement.
“That was Mr. Palmer being remorseful for what he did on January 6th,” Brunvand said in an interview leaving court. “And also, afraid of what’s to come.”
The judge didn’t buy Palmer’s act because he was stupid enough to lie his ass off on social media. And all his remorse was an act. Palmer was crying the blues because he was caught. He’s no different than any other criminal who fakes remorse to try and get a light sentence.
It’s also reported that Palmer’s lawyer tried to argue that Palmer shouldn’t get hit with a long sentence because he was just a foot soldier. Where are the generals? I agree that the generals of the Jan 6th insurrection should face charges and prison, but we are supposed to let the foot soldiers of fascism get off? The judge wasn’t buying that argument either.
Enjoy your time in prison Robert Palmer!