A Queens man faces up to 10 years in prison after he was convicted of threatening Democratic lawmakers after Donald Trump's election loss, but his attorneys say his time in jail has changed what prosecutors call his "defiant behavior."
Brendan Hunt, an aspiring actor who after his arrest was fired from a clerical job in the New York courts, encouraged the public execution of Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) shortly after the Jan. 6 insurrection, but his attorneys will ask the court to sentence him to time served, reported the New York Times.
"His time behind bars, they said, was like a boot camp: He learned to 'look down, not ask questions, accept his subservience,' and made 'lasting friendships with some of the most unlikely characters,'" the newspaper reported.
"As evidence of his artistic talents and his ability to 'find positive ways to endure troubles,' his lawyers included in their sentencing memorandum portions of comic strips Mr. Hunt drew while incarcerated — one of which featured [disgraced R&B star R.] Kelly, who was among Mr. Hunt's rotation of cellmates before Mr. Kelly's racketeering and sex-trafficking trial."
The pair lived together for a brief period during the summer, and Hunt drew comics showing them lifting weights, practicing yoga and discussing music, which his attorneys will argue shows the 27-year-old was not a violent white supremacist.
"Mr. Hunt said he had spent two years listening to heated political rhetoric from Republicans and Democrats, 'and getting wrapped up in it,'" the Times reported. "It felt like he was in the stands of a football stadium, he said, 'with everybody drinking beer,' and 'then all of a sudden I felt like the lights in the stadium went out and the spotlights all came on me.'"
The U.S. Attorney's office in Brooklyn will ask Judge Pamela Chen to sentence Hunt to four to five years, while defense attorneys will ask for his release after serving 10 months in custody before and after his trial.
