On January 6, 2021, personal friend, grandmother, and engaged civil servant in her hometown of Santa Ynez, Calif., Karen Jones was essentially, if you’ll excuse what has become a cliché, a tourist — a nonviolent, by the admission of the court, American visiting the Capitol she helps pay for via taxes.
The cops, emissaries of state, even granted her permission that day to enter the building, which she mistakenly took as permission to enter the building, an error she is now going to pay for with three years of probation, thousands of dollars in fines, and other draconian terms she must abide by or risk being tossed into prison.
Related: MSNBC: Releasing January 6 Capitol Footage Is 'Dangerous'
Following several years of threats and intimidation by the government, including sending the FBI to her home and arbitrarily changing court dates and venues, on September 5 the United States District Court in D.C. finally passed sentence on Karen and her husband, even while acknowledging they did not commit any violence, steal or vandalize anything, or enter private offices.
The court’s ruling (emphasis added):
Defendant was sentenced to a term of 36 months’ probation, with a special condition of 90 days’ home detention… a $2,500 criminal fine, and $500 in restitution on her plea of guilty to a charge of Entering or Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds… a Class A Misdemeanor. While no evidence shows that this defendant a) engaged in pre-planning for violence on January 6, 2021, b) entered any private offices or spaces within the Capitol building or (c) personally attacked any police officer, damage or steal property while inside or outside the Capitol building, and taking into account her minimal criminal history, age, and physical condition, her offense conduct warranted the sentence imposed.
After pleading guilty to a single misdemeanor of Entering or Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds with an otherwise unblemished criminal history, she must also, per court decree:
- Give up firearms
- Wear an ankle monitor on house arrest
- Not enter D.C. without prior permission
- Get permission from the probation officer to live anywhere
- Welcome the probation officer into her home at any time for any reason, who is authorized to take any “prohibited” items
On the other hand, Ray Epps — who many believe is an intelligence asset — is on camera inciting violence multiple times at the Capitol on that day, yet he got a year of probation. Indeed, it was only after massive political pressure exerted by Republicans that he was prosecuted at all, which, despite the evidence in the public domain, the government seemed disinterested in pursuing.
Via Associated Press (emphasis added):
A man targeted by right-wing conspiracy theories about the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced on Tuesday to a year of probation for joining the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by a mob of fellow Donald Trump supporters.
Ray Epps, a former Arizona resident who was driven into hiding by death threats, pleaded guilty in September to a misdemeanor charge. He received no jail time, and there were no restrictions placed on his travel during his probation, but he will have to serve 100 hours of community service.
He appeared remotely by video conference and wasn’t in the Washington, D.C., courtroom when Chief Judge James Boasberg sentenced him. Prosecutors had recommended a six-month term of imprisonment for Epps.
“I regret not being able to participate in this election cycle. It seems un-American to use the court system to silence political speech,” Karen relayed to me exclusively regarding the disposition of her years-long prosecution.
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