Sentencing delayed for former North Dakota man convicted of Jan. 6 insurrection – InForum

WASHINGTON, DC – Despite opposition from federal prosecutors, a judge delayed the sentencing of a former North Dakota man who assaulted one Capitol Police officer and attempted to assault another during the Jan. 6 insurrection. 2021.

Rockne Earles, 63, pleaded guilty

to two felony charges in September, including knocking an officer who was trying to stop rioters from advancing through a door to the ground. He has since been detained at the Central Detention Center in Washington, DC.

Photo from the Department of Justice

Sentencing in the case was scheduled for Friday, Jan. 10, but Earles and his attorney requested a delay on Dec. 30, citing, among other things, “a significant possibility that Mr. Earles will receive a pardon from President-elect Donald Trump.” “.

“The new administration in social media, interviews and speeches is signaling potentially broad pardons for those who participated in the events charged on January 6, 2021,” the motion states. “To preserve financial resources… a continuation until after January 20, 2025 is justified.”

Earles’ attorney also expressed a desire to gather more letters of support and evidence of Earles’ military and community service and argued that the D.C. jail did not have enough social workers available to help defendants prepare for their case as reasons of the delay.

Prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington opposed the motion based on previous court orders denying such claims in several other Jan. 6 riot cases.

“The Court should not delay the administration of justice based on the hopes and wishes of the accused,” the opposition statement said.

On Friday, Jan. 3, Judge Reggie Walton granted Earles’ request for a delay, but made clear that the likelihood of a Trump pardon was not one of the reasons he granted the motion.

“The Court is not convinced … that seeking a pardon from the new president-elect, no matter how likely the defendant believes his request will be granted, is a sufficient basis for proceeding with his sentencing hearing,” the judge wrote.

The new sentencing date is scheduled for January 30.

Prosecutors have said they will request the lower end of sentencing guidelines in the case, which would be two and a half years unless they add an upward adjustment.

for the use of a dangerous weapon,

in which case the penalty would be almost four years in prison. The second felony Earles admitted to was throwing a bottle full of Gatorade at a Capitol Police officer who was guarding access to the interior of the scaffolding and stairs leading to the Capitol building.

“The bottle narrowly missed the officer, striking the tarp where his head had been moments before,” Earles’ statement of offense read.

Earles traveled from his home in Oriska, North Dakota, to Washington to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally. In December 2020, he posted on the Valley City events Facebook page “What’s Happening” about the bus heading to the nation’s capital for the protest. He ran an unsuccessful campaign for Barnes County commissioner the previous fall. He later moved to New Mexico, where he was arrested in April 2023.