Judges Hand Down What Could Be The Last Punishments For The Jan. 6 Riot Before Pardons From Trump

The federal judge who oversaw Donald Trump's 2020 election interference case denounced efforts to rewrite the history of the U.S. Capitol attack Friday as she handed down what she acknowledged may be one of the final punishments for the Jan. 6 riot before the Republican president-elect's promised pardons.

In the courthouse within view of the Capitol days before Trump is set to take office, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan acknowledged the Virginia man she was sentencing may never actually serve his 10-day prison term for his role in the riot. But Chutkan said she would not let talk of pardons impact decisions in her courtroom, telling the defendant: "There have to be consequences."

"I only wish the rest of the country could see what I've seen," Chutkan said before sentencing Brian Leo Kelly, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor offenses. She rejected the portrayal of the rioters as peaceful protesters as "nonsense," arguing that even those who didn't engage in violence and destruction were part of an effort to stop the peaceful transfer of power.

"I know what happened," said Chutkan, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President Barack Obama. "I can't say it won't happen again."

In the weeks since Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, the judges overseeing the more than 1,500 criminal cases against the Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol have continued accepting guilty pleas, presiding over trials and handing out sentences, even as some judges have alluded the fact that the largest prosecution in Justice Department history is likely nearing an abrupt end.