Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images January 6 rioter found guilty after judge calls defense argument 'nonsense' .
Taylor James Jonatakis was found guilty of seven charges of participating in the 2021 attack to prevent Biden from being certified as president
The January 6 insurrectionist who represented himself using arguments » sovereign citizen» — which a judge called «nonsense» and «gibberish» — was found guilty on Tuesday.
Marjorie Taylor Greene says Democrats failed to protect the House from Capitol rioters. Read more
Taylor James Jonatakis, 39, of Kingston, Washington, will be sentenced at a later date.
On January 6, 2021, Donald Trump sent supporters to Congress to try to stop Joe Biden from conceding his defeat, ordering them to «fight like hell» for his cause.
According to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jonatakis «came into the Capitol with a megaphone strapped to his back [and] joined the riot at the foot of the southwest steps as the crowd overwhelmed police officers who were forced to retreat to the Capitol.
“Jonatakis followed directly behind these retreating police officers [and] was one of the first rioters to reach the top of the southwest steps, where he encountered a line of police barricades and officers protecting the Capitol.
“Jonatakis organized and coordinated the attack of other rioters on the police line… Specifically, using his megaphone, Jonatakis ordered the rioters to approach the police line» and then organized the attack using bicycle racks…< /p>
“At least one police officer was injured as a result of this attack.”
Jonatakis was arrested in February 2021 and was one of more than 1,200 people charged in connection with the riot. More than 400 people were sentenced to prison, some of them convicted of conspiracy to commit sedition.
Trump was impeached (for a second time) over the riot, but acquitted because Senate Republicans remained loyal. He now faces 13 state and four federal charges for attempting to subvert the election, among a total of 91 criminal charges, but still holds a huge lead in Republican primary polls.
In court last week, Jonatakis took the stand in his own defense, attempting to cite «sovereign citizen» ideology. The Anti-Defamation League defines sovereign citizens as “an extreme anti-government movement whose members believe that the government has no power over them.”
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Jonatakis also said that he had «repented of all [his] sins» and that the case should be «dismissed,» but Judge Royce Lambert wasn't buying it.
Telling Jonatakis that his arguments were «nonsense» and «nonsense», Lambert said: «When they find you guilty, you'll go to jail. You could have gotten a shorter sentence if you hadn't been so stubborn.»
A jury on Tuesday found Jonatakis guilty of seven charges, three of which are felonies.
The charges were as follows: obstruction of an official proceeding; assaulting, resisting or obstructing certain officers; civil unrest; entering and remaining in a building or area with limited access; disorderly and disruptive behavior in a building or restricted area; use of physical violence in a closed building or area; and an act of physical violence on Capitol grounds or buildings.
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