Former President Donald Trump's continued lies about the 2020 presidential election are having some negative legal consequences for the supporters who rioted on his behalf.
Politico reports that multiple judges have cited Trump's continued promotion of false conspiracy theories about the election as justification to deny bail to Trump supporters who rioted Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol.
The report notes that Senior United States District Judge Emmet Sullivan recently cited Trump's rhetoric as a reason to keep MAGA rioter Jack Whitton in jail ahead of his trial.
"Such comments reflect the continued threat posed by individuals like Mr. Whitton, who has demonstrated that he is willing and able to engage in extreme and terrifying levels of violence against law enforcement with a chilling disregard for the rule of law… seemingly based on mistaken beliefs about the illegitimacy of the current administration," Sullivan wrote in a recent decision.
In the wake of Sullivan's ruling, prosecutors have started using it as a precedent to argue that MAGA rioters pose continued risks to keep committing acts of political violence if released -- and apparently it's working.
"In dozens of cases, judges have agreed with prosecutors to detain Jan. 6 defendants considered an ongoing threat to public safety," Politico writes. "In a court hearing on Friday, Judge Amy Berman Jackson rejected one defense attorney's claim that it's unlikely the nation will see political events that could provoke similar violent reactions in the near future."
