Our first president rightly said that a president elected by the people should only serve their constitutionally mandated term in office. Former President Donald Trump, however, clearly needs a civics lesson: If he had his way, he’d become dictator.
Trump admires foreign despots because they have complete and total power over their countries and their people, and aren’t restrained by a judiciary or legislature. It amazes me that alleged law-and-order MAGA disciples can conveniently forget the law, the United States Constitution and common decency when it stands in the way of their political agenda.
Just this past weekend, Trump acknowledged in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that despite being told by lawyers and staff that the 2020 election was not stolen from him, he went ahead with his claims to overturn the results because, “You know who I listen to? Myself.”
This is music to the ears of Special Counsel Jack Smith, whose case against Trump hinges on the former president’s knowledge that the election claims he made were false after being told he had lost.
The Department of Justice may move slower than we would like, but it does move. So far 1,100 Capitol insurrectionists have been indicted, and 330 have received convictions. What I like is that the kingpins are getting the biggest sentences, and the sentences are being handed down by multiple judges.
Reginald J. Clyne, Esq.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, recently handed down 15 to 18-year sentences to some of the leaders of the Proud Boys, and gave a 22-year sentence to Enrique Tarrio, the group’s leader. Tarrio is a Miami native whose prior claim to fame was storming the congressional campaign headquarters of Donna Shalala because Nancy Pelosi was visiting. He should have been thrown in jail for threatening and intimidating a candidate for office. Instead, he got off and later took his storming tactics to the Capitol.
While prosecutors are not getting the maximum sentences they are requesting, these traitorous leaders are indeed receiving long sentences for their attempts to overthrow our government. At first, I was upset because some of the small-fry participants were getting light sentences, but as the DOJ has moved up the chain of command, bigger sentences are being handed down.
Other leaders of the Proud Boys will also spend time in jail. Joe Biggs was sentenced to 17 years; Zachary Rehl and Ethan Nordean each got 15 years; and Dominic Pezzola was sentenced to 10 years. The other major insurrectionist group that stormed the Capitol that day, the Oath Keepers, saw its founder, Stewart Rhodes, sentenced to 18 years.
It appears that our justice system is working. If I were Trump, I wouldn’t want to face a District of Columbia jury, where insurrectionists like him are being found guilty without too much trouble.
Reginald J. Clyne is a Miami trial lawyer who has practiced in some of the largest law firms in the United States. He has been in practice since 1987 and tries cases in both state and federal courts. Clyne has lived in Africa, Brazil, Honduras and Nicaragua.