U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing former President Donald Trump's federal election interference case, sent a strong message about January 6 after giving her longest sentence yet to a Capitol rioter on Friday.
In December 2022, Scott Miller from Smithsburg, Maryland, was arrested on felony charges for his actions during the siege of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
On that day, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., to stop the certification of Joe Biden's election win. The riot erupted following claims from Trump that the election was stolen via widespread voter fraud.
Miller pleaded guilty last January to a felony charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon. He was identified by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as a member of the Maryland Chapter of the Proud Boys, a far-right neo-fascist organization that promotes political and cultural violence.
On Friday, Chutkan sentenced Miller to five years and six months in prison. She warned before the sentencing that an attack like January 6 "can happen again," adding that "extremism is alive and well in this country."
Kyle Cheney, a senior legal affairs reporter for Politico, said that this was Chutkan's "longest Jan. 6 sentence to date," in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday.
According to a release from the DOJ, Miller made his way to the Lower West Terrace "Tunnel" of the Capitol on the afternoon of the riot and struck a Metropolitan Police Department officer multiple times with a long wooden pole.
"After that assault, Miller threw at least five objects at the police in the Tunnel, including a metal pipe or pole, a bottle, a short wooden stick, a large black speaker, and an article of clothing," the release said.
Miller then struck multiple officers with a pole, aiming at their heads.
At his sentencing hearing, Miller apologized for attacking the officers and told Chutkan that he was "reforming" himself.
"I am not a violent or hateful person despite some of the things you've seen," he told the judge.
Meanwhile, Cheney said in a follow-up post: "This was a particularly difficult sentencing. Miller's wife, 20 weeks pregnant with their first child, denounced his 'disgusting' rhetoric but said she (a mental health counselor) was working with him to reform and was seeing progress."
Chutkan's no-nonsense sentencing could spell trouble for Trump who faces four federal felony counts for his actions surrounding the Capitol riot.
Trump, who is the presumed 2024 GOP presidential nominee, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights. He maintains his innocence and claims the case is politically motivated.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesman and his lawyer via email for comment.
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