Career Criminal Who Attacked Capitol Cops Gets Longest January 6th Sentence to Date

     Mark Ponder is a degenerate. His case, however, provides a very good insight into how the federal sentencing guidelines work, particularly as it relates to cases stemming from the January 6th insurrection. Between December 2021, when Robert Scott Palmer's sentence was handed down, and July 2022, when Ponder was sentenced, Palmer held the sole distinction of having the longest sentence for the insurrection. This Florida man who became known for his American flag jacket stood on the Upper West Terrace holding a sign that read "Biden is a pedophile" before traveling to the Lower West Terrace and committing a series of felonies. He threw a wooden plank at police before picking up a fire extinguisher and spraying police with it, throwing the fire extinguisher at the police, and then picking it up after it rolled onto the ground and throwing it again. Thankfully, no police officers were injured. However, Palmer was in deep shit: he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of assaulting police with a dangerous and deadly weapon and faced a sentence range of 51 to 63 months in prison with three years of supervised release and $2,000 in restitution.

     There are a number of different levels of felony crimes against police that the rioters committed, with potential penalties including maximum prison terms of five, eight, ten, or twenty years in prison. Ponder, like Palmer, committed the most violent act against law enforcement defined by the U.S. criminal code. His acts are as atrocious as Palmer's. Palmer watched the acts of violence in the tunnel from above and chose to join in, while Ponder, a D.C. resident, was involved in several separate assaults against law enforcement. At about 2:30, after traveling downtown with the belief that the 2020 election had been stolen and he could do something to stop it, Ponder swung a metal pole at a police officer. Thankfully, the officer blocked it with his riot shield, which was strong enough to break the weapon in two. Ponder soon retreated. A minute later, Ponder, armed with a thicker, red, white and blue pole, attacked a second officer who, again, defended himself with a riot shield. 15 minutes later, Ponder made it to the Upper West Terrace and began banging that pole against the ground to intimidate police. He began swinging wildly at officers, striking one in the shoulder. After this assault, Metro Police Department officers took Ponder to the ground, handcuffed him, and detained him for nearly half an hour. Even as he was detained, he continued yelling encouragement at rioters, telling them to "hold the line" and shouting, "Don't give up!" When it became clear that transport would not be able to make it to arrest Ponder, he was let go. In spite of being ordered not to return, he came back just after 5:00 PM and began harassing (although not assaulting) law enforcement agents.

     Mark Ponder was arrested on March 17th, 2021, and held without bond. In an interview, he stated that he "generally stood with" law enforcement and that the attacks "weren't personal" but that he felt that they were "part of the problem." He pleaded guilty on April 22nd, 2022, and faced a sentencing range not of 51 to 63 months, but 57 to 71 months. Unlike Palmer, who was a small business owner and earned his sentence by posting a fundraiser falsely claiming that his assaulting police was to defend himself, Ponder was a career criminal. His most serious conviction was for robbing a cab driver and a gas station clerk in 2008, a pair of crimes that earned him three years in prison. The irony of a man legally barred from voting or owning a weapon protesting a "stolen election" and, by Ponder's own admission, fighting for the Second Amendment is not lost on anyone. Typical Trump supporter.

     Mark Ponder and Robert Scott Palmer are now tied for the longest sentences handed out in the January 6th insurrection. They likely won't keep this distinction very long. On August 1st, Guy Reffitt, the first January 6th defendant to be convicted at trial, will be sentenced on five felony counts. He faces a recommended sentenced range of 108 to 135 months in prison; the DOJ argues that he should face a terrorism enhancement and a sentence of 15 years, while the defense has argued he should be let off with a sentence of two years in prison with credit for the 19 months he has already spent behind bars. As long as the judge goes within the sentencing guidelines or above, Reffitt's sentence will be the longest to date. Meanwhile, Oath Keeper Joshua James faces 87 to 108 months for seditious conspiracy and Proud Boy Charles Donohoe faces 97 to 121 months for conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. We're just getting started.