Judge in Trump’s election interference case rejects ‘hostages’ label for jailed Jan. 6 defendants

WASHINGTON — The judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s election interference case on Wednesday rejected the idea that jailed defendants charged with some of the U.S. Capitol riot’s most violent crimes are “hostages” — a label Trump and his allies have often used to describe the prisoners.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said the Capitol riot police defendants, who remain jailed in Washington, D.C., do not deserve to be called hostages or heroes for their actions during the mob attack on January 6, 2021.

“They are being held there because they are dangerous people,” Chutkan said during a sentencing hearing for Antony Vo, a man convicted of storming the Capitol with his mother.

During his trial, Vo attended an overnight vigil that supporters of Jan. 6 riot defendants held outside the prison in Washington. The judge previously ruled that Vo’s presence at the vigil violated a condition of his release.

Chutkan rolled her eyes and shook her head when she heard from a prosecutor during Wednesday’s hearing that the vigil organizers are calling their gathering place outside the prison “Freedom Corner.”

‘Is that what it’s called? Freedom corner?” the judge asked, sounding incredulous.

At a campaign event in Houston in November 2023, Trump referred to the captured riot suspects as “J6 hostages, not prisoners.” Trump campaign rallies have begun with a recording of captured riot suspects at the Capitol singing the national anthem. In June 2023, Trump spoke at a fundraiser on behalf of the January 6 suspects.

“I’m going to contribute,” Trump said. “There have been very few people in the history of our country who have been treated like the people you love, like the people who have been through so much.”

Trump’s trial in Washington on the election interference case was scheduled to begin on March 4, but Chutkan agreed to put the case on hold while the former president continues his claims that he is immune from prosecution. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Trump’s appeal later this month.

Chutkan did not mention Trump by name during Wednesday’s hearing, where she sentenced Vo to nine months in prison. A jury convicted Vo of four crimes related to the riot. His mother has also been charged with crimes related to January 6.

More than 1,300 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot. The vast majority of them remain at large awaiting trial or a settlement to resolve their cases.

Chutkan told Vo, 31, of Bloomington, Indiana, that he was lucky she didn’t jail him after his conviction. She said he has consistently refused to express remorse or accept responsibility for his behavior on January 6.

“He has doubled down on his behavior,” she said.

Before hearing his sentence, Vo said he was “sorry for everything” and that he knew he should not have entered the Capitol on Jan. 6.

“I was not there to overthrow any democratic process,” he told the judge.

In his biography for a social media account, Vo calls himself a “J6 wrongful convict.” In a message after his trial, he wrote that “there was no jury of equals and it was 100% a kangaroo court.”

“I have been called worse,” Chutkan said, emphasizing that she was not punishing Vo for his insult or his political beliefs.

“I have thick skin,” the judge added.

Chutkan has distinguished himself as one of the toughest punishers of Capitol rioters. He has often imposed prison sentences that are harsher than prosecutors’ recommendations. Vo’s attorney, Carmen Hernandez, told Chutkan that she appears to be an “outlier” compared to other judges who sentenced the Jan. 6 suspects.

“Maybe I’m an outlier, as Ms. Hernandez suggests. I don’t necessarily think so,” Chutkan said.