Proud Boys sentencing in January 6 case rescheduled at short notice – live | US politics – NBC US NEWS


Since the start of the year, Donald Trump has appeared at arraignments in courthouses in New York City, Miami and Washington DC, but reportedly may decide to skip a court appearance in Georgia and enter his plea in writing.

Court access rules vary across the country, but Trump’s previous arraignments have generated a variety of scenes – all of which are unprecedented, since no other former president has faced similar criminal charges.

Here are some of the images that emerged from his previous arraignments:

Trump next to attorneys Joe Tacopina and Boris Epshteyn (R) during his 4 April arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court, where he faces charges related of falsifying business documents.
Trump next to attorneys Joe Tacopina and Boris Epshteyn (R) during his 4 April arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court, where he faces charges related of falsifying business documents. Photograph: Getty Images
Trump, as depicted in a courtroom sketch during his arraignment on charges related to trying to hide classified documents on 13 June, alongside his aide Walt Nauta (far left), and attorneys Chris Kise and Todd Blanche.
Trump, as depicted in a courtroom sketch during his arraignment on charges related to trying to hide classified documents on 13 June, alongside his aide Walt Nauta (far left), and attorneys Chris Kise and Todd Blanche. Photograph: Jane Rosenberg/Reuters
Trump sits between his attorneys Todd Blanche and John Lauro in this courtroom sketch from 4 August, when Trump was in Washington DC for his arraignment on federal charges related to trying to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump sits between his attorneys Todd Blanche and John Lauro in this courtroom sketch from 4 August, when Trump was in Washington DC for his arraignment on federal charges related to trying to overturn the 2020 election. Photograph: Jane Rosenberg/Reuters

All that said, Trump’s brief visit to the Fulton county jail last week to be formally arrested already produced its own iconic image:

Trump’s 24 August mug shot, from his arrest at the Fulton county jail in Atlanta.
Trump’s 24 August mug shot, from his arrest at the Fulton county jail in Atlanta. Photograph: FULTON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE/AFP/Getty Images

Key events

Former Proud Boys leader’s sentencing rescheduled to 5 September – report

Politico reports that former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrios’s sentencing after he was found guilty of seditious conspiracy has been rescheduled to 5 September, due to unspecified logistical issues:

UPDATE 3: There is *no* emergency, per a court spokesperson. Some logistical issues but all the Proud Boys sentencings are in the process of being rescheduled.

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) August 30, 2023

UPDATE 4: TARRIO sentencing is rescheduled for Sept. 5 at 2 pm.

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) August 30, 2023

Tarrio was previously set to be sentenced today. Federal prosecutors have asked that he serve 33 years in jail, which would be longest sentence yet in relation to the January 6 attack.

It’s been just under a week since Donald Trump’s trip to the Fulton county jail and subsequent mug shot release – unprecedented events which, as the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell reports, have not changed the basic contours of the presidential race:

Donald Trump extended his lead over his Republican nomination rivals in a series of polls conducted since the release of his mugshot in Fulton county after he surrendered on charges that he conspired to subvert the 2020 election in Georgia and his absence from the first GOP primary debate.

The former US president held commanding advantages across the board in recent surveys done for the Trump campaign and for Morning Consult, leading his nearest challenger, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, in the overall race, in a head-to-head matchup, and in favorability ratings.

That outcome has been a trend for Trump who has seen polling and fundraising boosts with each indictment this year – in the hush-money case in New York, in the classified documents case in Florida, and in the federal 2020 election subversion case in Washington.

It also suggests that some of DeSantis’s principal campaign arguments – that he is more electable than Trump – have failed to cut through with likely Republican voters even after he had the opportunity to establish himself last week in Trump’s absence on the debate stage.

Sentencing unexpectedly called off for Proud Boys convicted on January 6 charges – report

The sentencing of two members of the Proud Boys militia group, including former leader Enrique Tarrio, was unexpectedly called off today, Politico reports:

UPDATE: Both Tarrio and Biggs’ sentences are canceled for the day. Still no explanation.

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) August 30, 2023

UPDATE 2: DOJ says the Tarrio and Biggs sentencings are off “due to an emergency.”

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) August 30, 2023

Tarrio and Joseph Biggs, a self-described Proud Boys organizer, were both found guilty of seditious conspiracy for their actions during the assault on the Capitol. Earlier this month, prosecutors asked for a 33-year jail sentence for both men, which, if granted, would be the longest sentence given in any of the prosecutions to emerge from January 6.

Since the start of the year, Donald Trump has appeared at arraignments in courthouses in New York City, Miami and Washington DC, but reportedly may decide to skip a court appearance in Georgia and enter his plea in writing.

Court access rules vary across the country, but Trump’s previous arraignments have generated a variety of scenes – all of which are unprecedented, since no other former president has faced similar criminal charges.

Here are some of the images that emerged from his previous arraignments:

Trump next to attorneys Joe Tacopina and Boris Epshteyn (R) during his 4 April arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court, where he faces charges related of falsifying business documents.
Trump next to attorneys Joe Tacopina and Boris Epshteyn (R) during his 4 April arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court, where he faces charges related of falsifying business documents. Photograph: Getty Images
Trump, as depicted in a courtroom sketch during his arraignment on charges related to trying to hide classified documents on 13 June, alongside his aide Walt Nauta (far left), and attorneys Chris Kise and Todd Blanche.
Trump, as depicted in a courtroom sketch during his arraignment on charges related to trying to hide classified documents on 13 June, alongside his aide Walt Nauta (far left), and attorneys Chris Kise and Todd Blanche. Photograph: Jane Rosenberg/Reuters
Trump sits between his attorneys Todd Blanche and John Lauro in this courtroom sketch from 4 August, when Trump was in Washington DC for his arraignment on federal charges related to trying to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump sits between his attorneys Todd Blanche and John Lauro in this courtroom sketch from 4 August, when Trump was in Washington DC for his arraignment on federal charges related to trying to overturn the 2020 election. Photograph: Jane Rosenberg/Reuters

All that said, Trump’s brief visit to the Fulton county jail last week to be formally arrested already produced its own iconic image:

Trump’s 24 August mug shot, from his arrest at the Fulton county jail in Atlanta.
Trump’s 24 August mug shot, from his arrest at the Fulton county jail in Atlanta. Photograph: FULTON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE/AFP/Getty Images

Top Georgia Republican considering sanctioning Willis over Trump indictment – interview

Republicans in Congress have rallied to Donald Trump’s defense as prosecutors at the state and federal level brought charges against him this year, and the situation in Georgia is no different. The GOP controls the legislature in the Peach State, and in an interview with Atlanta Journal-Constitution published today, Steve Gooch, the majority leader in the Senate, said the party is considering whether to sanction Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis.

“We firmly believe that Willis’ office is being used for political purposes, and that it’s being weaponized against Republican candidates running for office,” Gooch said.

He continued:

There’s a lot of angry people in this state on both sides of this issue. But there’s still a majority of the Republican base who feel like there was fraud in the 2020 election, and they don’t feel like it was completely vetted properly and investigated. And that’s why a lot of these people are still upset today. They don’t feel like they were heard.

The majority leader said the party was considering holding hearings where witnesses could testify about “how the office is being run”. It’s also possible Willis would face complaints under a newly enacted law set to take effect on 1 October creating a commission to discipline prosecutors, up to removal.

Trump reportedly mulls skipping Georgia arraignment as prosecutor pushes for speedy trials

Good morning, US politics blog readers. Last week, Donald Trump made a much-watched visit to the Fulton county jail in Atlanta to be formally arrested after his indictment in the Georgia election rigging case. He was set to return to the city next week, when the defendants in the case will appear in a courtroom and plead to the charges brought against them by district attorney Fani Willis. But CBS News reports this morning that he is considering skipping the 6 September court date, as state law allows, and having his attorney enter his plea in writing. That would make Georgia the only one of the four criminal cases he’s facing where he does not enter his plea in person.

Willis’s case is still in its early stages, and Trump along with some of his 18 co-defendants have signaled they have no interest in seeing their proceedings resolved anytime soon. But Willis yesterday seized on a motion filed by indicted former Trump attorney Kenneth Chesebro to have his trial start on 23 October to ask a judge to start the other defendants’ trials at the same time – unless they object. Expect plenty of them to do so, perhaps as soon as today.

Here’s what else is going on:

  • Hurricane Idalia has made landfall in Florida, where Republican governor Ron DeSantis paused presidential campaigning to deal with its potentially catastrophic damage to the Gulf coast. Follow our live blog for the latest on the storm.

  • Joe Biden will at 1.45 pm eastern time speak about the federal response to Idalia, and the deadly wildfire in Maui earlier this month.

  • Harrison Floyd, the only one of Trump’s 18 co-defendants in Georgia who was not released following his arrest last week, left jail after posting a bond, according to media reports.





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