Federal Judge Trevor McFadden of the US District Court, appointed to the court by Donald Trump, turned aside a motion from one of the people who attacked the Capitol during the January 6th domestic terror assault who claimed he was being prosecuted solely because he was a Trump supporter, CNN reports.

The defendant, Couy Griffin, is a county commissioner from New Mexico who founded the “Cowboys for Trump” group.  He also lost out on an argument that the Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol, assaulting police officers and trespassing in the Capitol complex, were treated differently than protestors arrested on Capitol grounds during the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Griffin also said he was being unfairly prosecuted because others around him weren’t charged by federal authorities yet.

In a written ruling, McFadden said Griffin “comes up short on providing the ‘clear evidence’ required” to demonstrate that he had been improperly charged because of his political beliefs.  McFadden also noted that “[prosecutors] could rationally forgo federal prosecution as to most trespassers while deciding that Griffin’s leadership role in the crowd, position as an elected official, and more blatant conduct at the scene merited him different treatment.”

McFadden wrote that Griffin’s argument that Trump supporters are being treated differently than Kavanaugh protesters may have merit in sentencing, but not in the criminal trial.