Feds seek tougher sentences for veterans who stormed Capitol

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
Associated Press

Federal judges have a thorny question to consider when they sentence military veterans who stormed the U.S. Capitol in January. Do they deserve leniency because they served their country or tougher punishment because they swore an oath to defend it? The Justice Department has adopted the tougher position. In at least five cases, prosecutors have argued that a rioter’s military service weighs in favor of a jail sentence or house arrest because it made their actions on Jan. 6 more egregious. An Associated Press review of Capitol riot court records shows that at least three of two dozen sentenced defendants so far are veterans.