The January 6, 2021 Capitol riot is still a focus of the Democrat Party and the left. They have portrayed it as an insurrection and an attempt to overthrow the government.
In reality, the protests included some rabble-rousers who entered the Capitol and an even smaller amount who actually tried to commit violence against Capitol Hill police.
Nonetheless, there’s no doubt those who did commit violence on J6 committed a crime; those cases are wending their way through the legal system.
Now, one of the rioters is heading behind bars for a very long time.
Harsh Penalty For J6 Rioter Who Swung Pole
Mark K. Ponder was one of the participants in the fateful riot. On July 26, he was sentenced to more than five years in detention in the District of Columbia.
Ponder was convicted of assaulting three police officers and will be going to jail for 63 months, as per the judge’s sentence. This is definitely not getting off easy.
According to this conviction, on the afternoon of January 6, around 2 p.m., Ponder was protesting outside the Capitol and struck the first police officer with a pole he was carrying.
This strike broke the shield that protected the officer. Ponder then went toward another officer and also tried to assault him with another pole thicker than the first.
In this case, the officer managed to protect himself with his shield. Soon after, Ponder joined several protesters who faced a range of police officers and tried to assault them as well.
At this point, about 15 minutes after assaulting the second officer, Ponder assaulted another officer. As the officers tried to contain the riot, Ponder shook his pole in a threatening and uncontrolled manner and ended up hitting a third officer in the shoulder.
JUST IN: Judge Tanya Chutkan has sentenced Jan. 6 defendant Mark PONDER to 63 months in prison for assault, one of the stiffest sentences handed down yet, and steeper than DOJ's request for five years.
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) July 26, 2022
Ponder Pleads Guilty
In April, Ponder pleaded guilty to the assaults on police officers.
Compared to other cases, Ponder’s sentence was somewhat harsher. Of course, I’m not running my hand over a criminal’s head. You should never, under any circumstances, assault a law enforcement official.
Though take a look at other more extreme cases.
In Minnesota last week, a man was sentenced to less than a year and a half in prison and ordered to pay a fine of less than $1,000 for assaulting three police officers at a supermarket.
He already had an extensive criminal record for domestic violence and injured several supermarket employees. One of the officers he assaulted is still recovering in a hospital.
Not to mention that as soon as he was already in the penitentiary, he assaulted another officer!
A year and a half for him and 63 months for Ponder?
TOMORROW: Justice Dept to seek 5-year prison term at sentencing of high-level Capitol riot defendant Mark Ponder
Feds: "He swung a pole at an officer and, after his pole broke against the officer’s shield, he re-armed himself with a sturdier pole, then committed another
assault" pic.twitter.com/4dC2M0LYs1— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) July 26, 2022
More Hypocrisy
Look at another case that happened in Waco, Texas. A man received a two-year sentence for shooting a soldier and attacking a police officer as soon as he was arrested.
I don’t want to play the devil’s advocate! Though I want to raise the issue and conclude whether these are truly just sentences.
It’s certainly the case that Ponder was given a huge sentence for swinging a pole at a few well-armed police officers.
The symbol of justice is a blindfolded goddess of justice holding a sword and a scale. The scale expresses common sense and balance in the judgment of causes, while the sword reflects the strength and power of its decisions and the blindfold represents impartiality.
That’s the true meaning of justice. I hope those who are in the service of the justice of our country will remember to put it faithfully into practice.
This article appeared in FreshOffThePress and has been published here with permission.
