U.S. Federal District Court Judge Reggie B. Wilson compared the actions of Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol rioter Adam Johnson, 37, of Florida, to something you would see "in a banana republic," and the current war in Ukraine when he sentenced him Friday to 75 days in jail and a fine of $5,000.
"A message just has to be sent," The Washington Post reported Walton telling Johnson during the proceeding. "If you're going to associate yourself with this type of behavior, and you're going to try to engage in conduct that undermines the fundamental fabric of this society, [then] your freedom is going to be taken away."
Walton recommended Johnson read two books: "How Civil Wars Start," and "The Next Civil War," lamenting, "What we're experiencing now is exactly some of the things that were experienced prior to those events taking place. That's what we see in countries, like what we're experiencing now in Ukraine," the Post reported Walton said to Johnson. "And you contributed to that."
Johnson, a single father of five, is shown in a viral internet photograph holding a lectern belonging to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as a group of supporters for former President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to try and upset the joint session of Congress validating the results of the 2020 election.
Five people died during and in the immediate aftermath of the protest and riot, including Ashli Babbitt — who was shot and killed by Capitol Police — and officer Brian Sicknick, who suffered a stroke and died the next day.
According to NBC News, Johnson said he cooperated with law enforcement during the investigation and realized that it was a "stupid thing to do."
He pleaded guilty earlier this year to a criminal count of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds.
He is one of more than 740 people arrested in the incident, and more than 40 who have been sentenced to jail in connection with the protest and riot.
Sentences have ranged from around 45 days in jail to five years in federal prison for Robert Scott Palmer, who attacked police officers with a fire extinguisher, NBC News reported.
More than 200 of those arrested have pled guilty to charges associated with the event, mostly involving misdemeanor charges, the news outlet reported.
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