Two Men Who Assaulted Police on January 6th Have Two Very Different Responses to Their Sentences

 

     Former Boston K-9 Officer Joseph Fisher was already in an unusual position as a January 6th defendant, not just because he was a former law enforcement officer accused of assaulting law enforcement during the insurrection (with others including Thomas Webster of New York City and, coincidentally, another officer named Joseph Fischer from Pennsylvania), but because of how distinguished his career was. Fisher participated in the manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombers and was even photographed alongside elected officials at a press conference related to the search. He also appeared in a documentary about an investigation into a homicide case.

     Fisher is also unusual because of the remorse he seemed to demonstrate in how he handled the charges against him. His conduct was, undoubtedly, egregious. He used a chair as a weapon against an officer who was pursuing a suspect who had pepper sprayed police, and was then seen scuffling with police who confronted him for that assault. However, unlike other defendants who pleaded guilty to one or two charges with an agreement for how much prison time they could face, Fisher pleaded guilty to all of the charges without a plea agreement in place. 

     Prosecutors sought a sentence of 46 months in prison, which, considering most defendants receive lighter sentences than the government seeks in any criminal case, was a pretty lenient request by the prosecution that reflected his remorse. For his part, Fisher sought a sentence of six months in prison. At his sentencing on Friday, May 24th, 2024, he recalled asking out-of-towners who committed crimes in Boston if they would do that in their own town. He called his actions a stain on his family name, an insult to the people of Washington, D.C., and a tragedy for the nation. At the end of the day, Fisher was sentenced to 20 months in prison, two years of probation, and roughly $2,300 in restitution and fees. Fisher deserved the prison sentence he got, and probably even a longer one. However, that is somebody who committed a serious crime, felt bad about it, accepted responsibility, is paying his debt to society, and can very likely turn his life around and go back to being a good citizen after his release.

     In a different courtroom in the same courthouse on that same day, sentencing played out very differently for a January 6th defendant who is the polar opposite of Fisher: Christopher Joseph Quaglin. Quaglin, a New Jersey electrician, was charged in the same case as Patrick McCaughey III, the man in transition lenses who used a shield to crush Officer Daniel Hodges in a doorway, and seven other defendants. Of the nine, Quaglin was by far the most violent and disturbing. A self-proclaimed member of the Proud Boys who posted about "war" and "kamikaze" as well as pictures of his body armor and firearms in the weeks after the 2020 election, Quaglin assaulted at least a dozen officers that day. He pulled down and pushed barriers, berated and scuffled with officers, hit an officer in the head and neck, pushed against police with a stolen riot shield, threatened to shoot officers, and sprayed an officer with chemical spray before bragging about his actions on social media.

     Throughout the course of his case, Quaglin remained defiant. Detained pre-trial because of the obvious danger he is to the community, Quaglin sued the DOJ and falsely claimed he was being "tortured" and was "on the brink of death" in the D.C. jail. Being on the brink of death for three years must be a new record. Quaglin's lawsuit was dismissed, with the Trump-appointed judge overseeing his case ruling his civil rights were never violated and even saying that January 6th defendants seemed to be getting more privileges than many other alleged criminals. In the meantime, Quaglin continued to raise money on an online fundraising site totaling $82,000. He whined that he was missing out on the childhood of his newborn, although he was the one who chose to storm the Capitol when his wife was a few weeks away from giving birth. He agreed to a stipulated bench trial before Judge McFadden, where he was convicted of a January 6th record 14 charges, 12 of them felonies. He then tried to withdraw his agreement to a stipulated trial, that motion that was denied.

     On the day of his sentencing, Quaglin made as big an ass of himself as ever. In documents containing hundreds of pages, he called himself a political prisoner who was being tortured and persecuted. He attacked Judge McFadden, who has been a lenient judge on January 6th defendants. He also claimed he was treated worse than detainees at Gitmo. Prosecutors sought 14 years in prison for Quaglin. Given the chance to speak, Quaglin lashed out at the judge, calling him "Trump's worst mistake of 2016." He accused McFadden of being part of a government conspiracy to "torture" him, while simultaneously describing himself as a patriot who supported police. Judge McFadden described Christopher Quaglin as a "menace to society," a "disgrace," and an "outrage" before sentencing him to 12 years in prison. 

     It was an interesting display in a Washington, D.C. courthouse as two very different defendants were sentenced and displayed to very different responses.