Black MAGA fan who DIDN'T go to Jan. 6 Capitol siege gets longest riot sentence yet of 14 months after posting online threats to target RINO 'traitors': Blames color of his skin for 'unfair' punishment
A federal judge has handed down the harshest punishment yet for someone involved in the Capitol riot on January 6, sentencing a Texas man who was not physically present at the riot to 14 months in prison.
Troy Smocks, a black man from Dallas, had admitted posting threatening social media messages online the day after the riot from a Washington, D.C., hotel room.
His sentence is the longest term to date resulting from the federal investigation of the incident at the nation's capital.
Troy Smocks, a black man from Dallas, was sentenced to 14 months in prison on Thursday after admitting he posted threatening social media messages online the day after the riot
Smocks, 58, appeared before U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan for sentencing Thursday on one felony count of transmitting threats in interstate commerce.
'I'm no Dr. [Martin Luther] King, but we do share same the skin color and the same idea of justice. I just want to be treated equally,' Smocks said at his sentencing, after claiming he was being treated more harshly during court proceedings due to the color of his skin.
Chutkan, who is also black, rejected requests from Smocks' attorney for a time-served sentence at the low end of eight to 14 months, recommended by federal guidelines, and dismissed the defendant's claim that his sentence was unnecessarily harsh because of the color of his skin.
'I have not seen a scintilla of evidence that prosecutors' decisions have been racially motivated,' Chutkan told Smocks at the hearing.
Protestors stormed the Capitol in Washington on January 6 to protest the results of the 2020 US election. Five people died in the raid
Smocks admitted last month to posting a message on the social media network Parler under the handle 'ColonelTPerez' the day after the riot, which was viewed at least 54,000 times.
'Prepare our weapons, and then go get'em,' it read.
US District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan rebuked claims from the defendant that he was being made an example of because he is black
'Lets hunt these cowards down like the Traitors that each of them are.
'This includes RINOS, Dems, and Tech Execs. We now have the green light.'
The term 'RINOS' refers to those who are deemed to be 'Republicans in Name Only.'
Smocks had traveled to the nation's capital before the January 6 riot, but he was not accused of storming the building.
Smocks has been in jail since he was arrested on January 15; he pleaded guilty in September.
One of the few black people among the 600-plus defendants charged so far, Smocks argued that his treatment has been unfair compared with others who did actually enter the Capitol.
But Chutkan said she had not seen evidence that suggested Smocks' prosecution had been racially motivated, and she noted that Smocks expressed little remorse for his actions.
'People died fighting for civil rights,' she said. 'For you to hold yourself up as somehow a soldier in that fight is very audacious.'
Smocks posted threatening messages to the social media website Parler the day after the riot from a Washington, D.C., hotel room
'Prepare our weapons, and then go get'em,' the message read. 'Lets hunt these cowards down like the Traitors that each of them are. This includes RINOS, Dems, and Tech Execs. We now have the green light'
Smocks admitted to posting a message on the social media network Parler under the handle 'ColonelTPerez' the day after the riot, which was viewed at least 54,000 times
Smocks has received the harshest sentencing yet of those accused of storming the Capitol building during the January 6 riot. He was not at that Capitol that day
More than 600 people have been arrested for their part in the riot at the Capitol, which took place after a Donald Trump rally
The sentence exceeded what prosecutors requested: the time he has already served in jail, during which he tested positive for COVID-19.
Smocks has a two-decade-long criminal history, and prosecutors said he had bought a plane ticket to leave the country shortly before his arrest.
His social media accounts indicated he had been a colonel, but authorities found no record of military service.
Prosecutors found evidence he had long passed himself off as veteran and had a history of fraud-related convictions from the 1980s to 2006, though he had stayed out of legal trouble over the past two decades.
Smocks' sentence was the longest since an eight-month term handed down in July to a crane operator from Florida who breached the Senate cha
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