Steadfastly defiant Jan. 6 rioter Taylor James Johnatakis was handed a hefty seven-year-plus prison sentence Wednesday by a judge who criticized him for his lack of remorse and cited a recent complaining podcast.
Johnatakis has long declared that he is a "sovereign citizen" not subject to the laws of the nation, and he appeared to stand by that at his sentencing.
He was convicted in November on felony counts of obstruction of an official proceeding, assaulting officers and civil disorder, as well as four misdemeanor charges in the January 6, 2021 insurrection.
Ronald Reagan-apppointed Judge Royce Lamberth said he feared that Johnatakis' "lack of remorse" could lead him to violence again. Lamberth also said that while Johnatakis at times appeared to express contrition, he recently raged on a podcast about the "injustice" that Capitol rioters are facing.
Earlier during the trial Lamberth said he worried that "meritless justifications of criminal activity" such as those voiced by Johnatakis represented a "danger" to the country. He sentenced the rioter to 87 months in prison.
"This cannot become normal. ... We cannot condone the normalization of the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot," Lamberth said during the sentencing, CNN reported.
Prosecutors had sought nine years in federal prison for Johnatakis. They argued that he "came equipped to organize rioters by strapping a megaphone onto his back ... led the charge" and "coordinated a violent assault on a line of police officers defending the U.S. Capitol."
Before exiting the courtroom in his prison jumpsuit, Johnatakis conceded to Lamberth: "I do honor what you do for this country," NBC reported.
He then blew a kiss to his family members in court, waved goodbye and gave a thumbs up before being led out to serve his sentence.
