Scott Miller, a Maryland man and former Proud Boys leader who assaulted multiple officers in a violent attempt to infiltrate the Capitol, received her worst Jan. 6 punishment to date—five and a half years.
Chutkan’s punishment, handed down on Friday, was based in part on Miller’s “aggressive” conduct in the Capitol as well as his private writings calling for racial and religious violence against minorities and Jews. She said the proof of his “violent ideology”—his embracing of Nazism and his apparent belief that Washington, D.C., people should be murdered—disaffected her, despite Miller’s claim that he disavowed those beliefs shortly after Jan. 6.
Chutkan’s 66-month sentence edged out two 63-month sentences she handed down to Robert Palmer and Mark Ponder, who also participated in some of the most heinous violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6: a vicious hand-to-hand battle at the mouth of the building’s Lower West Terrace tunnel.
Chutkan emphasized her conviction that the Jan. 6 mob attack was “close to as serious a crisis as this nation has ever faced.” She praised the officers who, despite being outnumbered and ill-equipped, fought to secure the building.
“They had to deal with horrific conditions. “They were assaulted, spat on, beaten, kicked, and gassed,” Chutkan claimed. “They are patriots.”
Chutkan is also concerned that the conditions that precipitated January 6 still persist.
“It can happen again,” the Obama-appointed judge stated. “Extremism thrives in our country. Threats of violence remain unabated.”
His family, including his wife who is 20 weeks pregnant with their first child, joined Miller in court. Miller has been in jail since pleading guilty. His wife, a mental health counselor, informed Chutkan that she has been working with Miller since Jan. 6 to steer him away from the “disgusting” attitudes and “groupthink” that she claims drove him to Jan. 6. She explained that he was depressed and anxious.
Miller also addressed Chutkan, informing her that he had “cut ties” with the Proud Boys and had abandoned his past radical convictions.
“I want to be a good example for my child,” he went on to say.
Chutkan emphasized the transformative impact of having a child, highlighting that children’s love is unconditional, regardless of their parents’ past actions.
In expressing her hopes, she wished for Miller’s child to become a transformative turning point in his life, guiding him away from the destructive path of violent ideology.
According to her, redemption is within the reach of every individual.
