Judge questions whether Jan. 6 rioters are treated unfairly

By COLLEEN LONG and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge who sentenced a Jan. 6 rioter to probation on Friday, instead of a harsher punishment requested by prosecutors, suggested the U.S. Justice Department was being too hard on the Jan. 6 defendants and not hard enough on those accused in police brutality protests from last summer. U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden questioned why federal prosecutors had not brought more cases against those accused in protests last summer. The statements by McFadden were a major departure from the other federal judges who have sentenced rioters so far in the insurrection, including other Trump appointees.