r/CapitolConsequences • u/Jordan_WUSA9 Verified Journalist • Aug 11 '22

Ex-police officer who saw himself as pro-Trump 'counter insurgency' sentenced to 87 months in prison in Jan. 6 case Sentenced

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/national/capitol-riots/ex-virginia-police-officer-sentenced-to-7-years-in-prison-in-capitol-riot-case-thomas-robertson-rocky-mount-trump-jacob-fracker/65-4325e02a-5e48-49a5-aad6-a39d3373a312
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238

u/ManOfLaBook Aug 11 '22

served until his arrest

So... loss of pension and benefits.

If you didn't read the article, you should. It's crazy.

136

u/[deleted] Aug 11 '22

[deleted]

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u/imbillypardy Aug 11 '22

A tale as old as time, oedipus and the dad

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u/flarpflarpflarpflarp Aug 12 '22

What will Oedipus and The Dad get into on next week's episode?
Prison Wallets!

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u/BeastKingSnowLion Aug 12 '22

And, toilet wine!!!

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u/DadJokeBadJoke Aug 12 '22

He flew too close to the son...

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u/imbillypardy Aug 12 '22

Clever play on words, Icarus, I’m on to you

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u/symitwo Aug 12 '22

I really hope his name is Brandon cause LET'S GO

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u/missread4ever Aug 11 '22

Not allowed to read it in the UK

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u/ManOfLaBook Aug 11 '22

CAPITOL RIOTS Ex-police officer who saw himself as pro-Trump 'counter insurgency' sentenced to 87 months in prison in Jan. 6 case

A judge said he believed Thomas Robertson would answer the "call to duty" if another event like Jan. 6 were to happen.

Author: Jordan Fischer Published: 4:30 PM EDT August 11, 2022 Updated: 4:31 PM EDT August 11, 2022

WASHINGTON — A former Virginia police officer convicted of six counts for his role in the Capitol riot was sentenced Thursday to more than seven years in prison.

Thomas Robertson, who served until his arrest as an officer with the Rocky Mount Police Department, appeared before U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper on Thursday afternoon. In April, Robertson was the second Capitol riot defendant to go to trial, after Texas Three Percenter Guy Reffitt. A jury ultimately convicted him of all six counts against him:

  • Obstruction of an official proceeding
  • Civil disorder
  • Entering and remaining in a restricted building with a dangerous weapon
  • Disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building
  • Violent entry and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building
  • Tampering with a document or proceeding

At trial, prosecutors said Robertson, who also served in the U.S. Army and overseas as a contractor for the military, had worked himself up into a willingness to commit violence after former President Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election. In one Facebook post they showed jurors, Robertson wrote, “I’ve spent most of my adult life fighting a counter insurgency. I’m about to become part of one, and a very effective one.”

On Thursday, prosecutors also presented evidence Robertson had a pattern of lying about his military credentials, saying he’d falsely told the court and others he was an Army Ranger, despite never graduating from Ranger school, and that he’d falsely claimed he had received a Purple Heart. The Stolen Valor Act makes it a crime to fraudulently claim to receive certain military decorations, including the Purple Heart, for personal gain. Prosecutors told Cooper they couldn’t comment about whether the Justice Department was investigating Robertson for those claims.

It was Robertson’s post-arrest conduct, however, that drew the most concern from Cooper. At Thursday’s hearing, assistant U.S. attorney Liz Aloi highlighted messages Robertson sent to the former police chief of Boone’s Mill, Virginia, after FBI agents searched his property in March.

“I’m not planning on doing anything crazy, but I am done being civil about it,” Robertson wrote. “If they come here again, many will die. Possibly me, definitely many of them.”

Later in the same message, Robertson said, “I can kill every agent that they send for probably two weeks.”

Robertson was initially granted pretrial release, but Cooper ordered him back into custody last July when Robertson purchased more than 30 firearms while awaiting trial. Federal law makes it a crime to ship or transport firearms or ammunition while under indictment for a crime with a maximum sentence of more than 1 year in prison. Aloi said the matter was still under investigation by the DOJ.

Before handing down his sentence, Cooper told Robertson he didn’t believe he’d accepted responsibility for his actions. And, he said, he didn’t believe he’d sworn off violence.

“I read this stuff and it seems like you really think of partisan politics as war,” Cooper said. “I sincerely believe you would answer a call to duty if something like this were to happen again.”

Cooper ordered Robertson to serve 87 months in prison, tying him with Reffitt, who was sentenced last week, for the longest sentence handed down to date in a Capitol riot case. Robertson will also have to pay $2,000 in restitution for damage to the U.S. Capitol Building, which is the standard amount in Jan. 6 felony cases. He’ll receive credit for the approximately 12 months he’s served in pretrial detention since he was ordered back into custody last summer.

Robertson’s co-defendant Jacob Fracker, who testified against him at trial, was scheduled to be sentenced next week. Fracker pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.

Edit: formatting

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u/1202_ProgramAlarm Aug 12 '22

Who the fuck has money to buy 30 guns in a short period?! That shit is expensive

23

u/Raul_Coronado Aug 12 '22

Who knows how much he’s stolen while in the job

20

u/Nervous_Constant_642 Aug 12 '22

Cops that get paid too much and take bribe/muscle money. Sometimes they'll moonlight in uniform at shows and clubs for cash, sometimes the city contracts them out. All of it is basically overtime pay on top of whatever overtime he was already doing (cops do a shit ton of overtime because it's good money and your pension is based on how much you made the year or two before you leave the force).

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u/1202_ProgramAlarm Aug 12 '22

And we can't forget seized evidence. "Yeah we found 45 I mean 20 thousand in cash inside the perps veehickle."

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u/[deleted] Aug 12 '22

I have a good credit score and a few credit cards with no balance. I keep getting letters that each company has increased my line of credit. I could buy that and more - if I was willing to go into massive debt to do so. These folks aren’t known for thinking long-term. If he charged most of those weapons, he’s likely not going to be able to keep up on payments. He’s probably going to be financially fucked when this is all over. With a felony record and shit credit, he will get to experience what it’s like for the people he very likely treated very poorly for years. I’m sure he’ll see himself as a victim, though. All of these chumps seem to.

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u/1202_ProgramAlarm Aug 12 '22

I guess if your plan is to go out in a blaze of glory then yeah rack up them credit cards. Still can't figure out what use 30 guns is when you can only use 1 at a time.... Maybe arming his friends but I can't imagine they're not already equipped

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u/RetailBuck Aug 12 '22

I mean not really. Anyone middle class his age should have a nest egg that could accomplish that and surely he had crazy PD overtime. What's crazy is spending it all on guns. He must have thought it was an existential crisis.

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u/1202_ProgramAlarm Aug 12 '22

Ok fine, who the fuck had enough dispensable money saved that they can buy 30 guns? I mean I love guns as much as the next guy but even if I had the money I wouldn't buy 30 when I can only use 1 or 2 at a time.

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u/RetailBuck Aug 12 '22

Congratulations you're off higher state than someone who tries to shots up the FBI. These people aren't healthy but having some money isn't required for that.

1

u/davdev Aug 12 '22

Credit Cards are easy enough to get and who has to worry about paying them off when the plan is to go out in a blaze of glory

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u/chacamaschaca Aug 12 '22

This is the guy who, when caught purchasing the other firearms after his arrest, claimed he was a "collector" or some shit?

“If they come here again, many will die. Possibly me, definitely many of them.”

These fucks are liars. He would gladly kill his own fellow officers for the glory of a shit-weasel like Trump. I'm glad to see he's getting serious time, tho I think they should be judged as a capital offense.

Let him be free on a long enough timeline, and it would be.

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u/wowzeemissjane Aug 11 '22

So he may have more charges yet to come?

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u/Q-burt Aug 12 '22

Is this Fracker guy also a former police officer? If he isn't, he's probably going to Gen Pop. Convicts also take a dim view on snitches. I think the hatred ranking goes

  1. Child molesters and rapists
  2. Snitches
  3. Law Enforcement
  4. Someone who disrespects them

So, long story short, a bunch of these guys are gonna have a hard time.

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u/[deleted] Aug 12 '22

[deleted]

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u/Q-burt Aug 12 '22

Sounds like a regular ol'can of worms.

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u/meltedmirrors Aug 12 '22

I can't believe that I paid more in fines for having 4.1 grams of mushrooms than a dude who literally attempted to kill politicians and threatened to kill federal officers. What a fucking joke

1

u/FilthBadgers Aug 12 '22

“Access denied” I assumed not available in the UK :(

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u/ManOfLaBook Aug 12 '22

I pasted the full article in one of my replies

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u/FilthBadgers Aug 12 '22

Ahh sorry I totally missed it! Thankyou :)

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u/bleedblue89 Aug 12 '22

This dude is a nut job

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u/stupidsuburbs3 Aug 12 '22

Haven’t seen this quoted yet but in light of current events with the FBI, HOLY SHIT!

I’m not planning on doing anything crazy, but I am done being civil about it,” Robertson wrote. “If they come here again, many will die. Possibly me, definitely many of them.”

Later in the same message, Robertson said, “I can kill every agent that they send for probably two weeks.”

Imagine getting pulled over by this nut on a dark road. bACk the bLUe squawk.