A federal judge sentenced a convicted member of the Republican-led mob of domestic terrorists that attacked Congress on January 6th to 240 days home detention, citing the defendant’s autism as a mitigating factor pushing for a lighter sentence, Politico reports.
U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden told Nicholas Rodean, of Frederick, Maryland, “I’m giving you a real break here,” and saying Rodean’s diagnosed medical condition mitgated “the blameworthiness of your conduct.” The day before, McFadden had sentenced Hunter Seefried to two years in prison for similar crimes.
Rodean spent most of the Capitol attack alongside one of the more memorable miscreants of the day, the QAnon Shamin Jacob Chansley, as they got into a physical confrontation with police officers as the terrorists tried to enter the Senate chamber.
During the sentencing hearing, Rodean struggled to describe his role in the attack as well as the resulting guilt he felt, grabbing his head in frustration at one point. Rodean’s attorney explained to the court that Rodean became obsessed with politics during the pandemic and fell into the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories.
“I am really sorry about breaking the window,” Rodean said. “I am really sorry about other crimes that I did.”
“Are you ever going to do anything like this again?” McFadden asked him.
“No,” Rodean replied.