Conservative scion Brent Bozell IV sentenced to nearly 4 years in Jan. 6 case

Federal prosecutorssought 11 yearsin prison and a terrorism enhancement for Bozell, whose father and grandfather shaped the modern conservative movement in the U.S.

May 17, 2024, 7:17 PM EDT

By Ryan J. Reilly and Julia Jester

WASHINGTON — A man whose family members were key architects of the American conservative movement was sentenced Friday to three years and nine months in federal prison for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, which included smashing windows that allowed the mob to storm into the building during the initial breach.

Federal prosecutors sought more than 11 years in prison and a terrorism enhancement for Brent Bozell IV, the son of Media Research Center founder Brent Bozell III and grandson of Joe McCarthy speechwriter Brent Bozell Jr., who was William F. Buckley Jr.'s brother-in-law and ghost-wrote Barry Goldwater's "The Conscience of a Conservative."

But Judge John Bates sentenced Bozell IV to 45 months in prison and $4,727 in restitution Friday. Bates found that the clear language of the terrorism enhancement statute would apply in Bozell's case, saying it's "a little difficult for me to escape" that conclusion. But Bates disagreed with the enormous impact it would have on Bozell's sentence range and seemed uncomfortable with labeling a man with a leadership role in the politically-motivated attack on the U.S. Capitol as a domestic terrorist.

"I’m not sure that label is an appropriate label for the defendant to have to carry with him,” Bates said, noting that while Bozell busted windows that let the mob breach the building and joined the mob as it overtook multiple police lines, his conduct wasn't "meaningfully violent" and he didn't cause any physical harm to officers. Still, he previously found that Bozell was “leaning toward the officers with his head down” and "forcibly" made contact with officers as the mob charged a police line. He also found that Bozell repeatedly lied on the stand about his conduct.

Bates also took the opportunity to indirectly push back on the rhetoric that Republican politicians have been using about Jan. 6 defendants.

“Not for a moment should January 6 rioters be considered true patriots,” Bates, a George W. Bush appointee said. “They’re not political prisoners. They’re not hostages.”

The Jan. 6 rioters are now facing the consequences of their actions based on a fair, unbiased, even application of the law, Bates said.

Bozell, with his father seated in the court gallery, was apologetic for his actions in court, saying that he had "put a stain" on his family forever. “I don’t recognize the person in those videos,” Bozell said, vowing to spend the rest of his life making sure that what he did on Jan. 6 was not the story of his life.

But Bozell notably did not say that he now realized he was misled about the 2020 election or blame former President Donald Trump's lies for his conduct, as many Jan. 6 defendants have.

Asked by NBC News after his sentencing whether he still believed the 2020 election was "stolen," as Trump falsely claimed in the lead up to the attack, Bozell declined to comment. (In carefully worded language, Bozell's defense sentencing memo says only that Bozell "accepts that the President of the United States is Joe Biden," which is the same tactic that Republican politicians have used to avoid discussing discussing their beliefs about the 2020 election in detail.)

On Jan. 6, 2021, Bozell joined the pro-Trump mob as it breached the police line and smashed windows during the initial breach of the Capitol. He was side by side with members of the far-right Proud Boys, as well as an anti-abortion rights advocate accused of plotting to kill FBI employees who worked on his Jan. 6 case.

Bozell made his way into the Senate gallery and then onto the Senate floor. He also joined the mob during another violent breach of doors off the Capitol rotunda, which allowed other rioters to storm the building….

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/conservative-scion-brent-bozell-iv-sentenced-jan-6-case-rcna151150

19 May, 2024 02:06

Slovak PM’s condition ‘remains very serious’ – deputy

Robert Fico was hospitalized with gunshot wounds this week

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico remains in serious condition after surviving an assassination attempt, his deputy Robert Kalinak said on Saturday.

Fico was attacked on Wednesday in the central Slovak city of Handlova. When he approached a group of spectators, one person pulled out a handgun and shot the politician multiple times at close range. Fico was immediately rushed to the hospital, and the assailant was detained on the spot.

Kalinak, who also serves as defense minister, spoke to the news channel TA3 outside the Roosevelt Hospital in Banska Bystrica, where Fico is being treated. He remained cautiously optimistic about the prime minister’s recovery.

“He is in stable condition, but the four gunshot wounds have caused extensive injuries,”Kalinak said. He added that Fico had undergone additional surgery, and that there still could be complications. “In any case, his condition is very serious.”

Kalinak said that he had a brief conversation with the prime minister in the hospital, and thanked the doctors and the Slovak public to their support. “I ask everyone for a little bit more patience and a strong belief that everything will turn from bad to good,” he said.

The authorities identified the suspect as a 71-year-old former security guard named Juraj Cintula. He was placed in pre-detention on Saturday.

Although the suspect’s exact motives remain unclear, the government believes that the attack was politically motivated. Many leading politicians have linked the assassination attempt to “hateful rhetoric” and the politically charged climate in the country.

Fico is a polarizing figure in the EU due to his position regarding the conflict in Ukraine. The politician has repeatedly urged against further escalation with Russia and suspended the deliveries of weapons to Kiev.

https://www.rt.com/news/597836-slovak-pm-stable-condition/

18 May, 2024 09:35

Zelensky blasts West for wanting conflict to end

The US and its allies are afraid of Moscow losing the war, the Ukrainian leader has said

Ukraine’s president has claimed Kiev’s forces would be more successful on the battlefieldif they were not banned from using Western-supplied weapons to hit targets in Russia.

Russia’s ability to strike Ukraine from its own soil is giving Moscow the edge in the conflict, Vladimir Zelensky said during an interview with AFP news agency on Friday.

"They can fire any weapons from their territory at ours. This is the biggest advantage that Russia has. We can’t do anything to their systems, which are located on the territory of Russia, with Western weapons,” he explained.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who visited Kiev earlier this week, said Washington has “not encouraged or enabled strikes outside of Ukraine, but ultimately Ukraine has to make decisions for itself about how it’s going to conduct this war.”

However, on Thursday Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh clarified that Washington’s position that Kiev should not target Russia with US-supplied weapons remains unchanged. Such arms can only be used to “take back Ukrainian sovereign territory,” Singh stressed.

Earlier this month, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron insisted Ukraine has the “right” to use UK-supplied weapons to strike targets deep inside Russia, if it decides to do so. Moscow reacted to the statement by warning that if such an attack were to take place it could target British military facilities “on the territory of Ukraine and beyond” in response.

The New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Kiev has urged Washington to provide intelligence on targets on Russian soil amid setbacks in Donbass and Kharkov Region. According to the NYT, US officials are currently reviewing those requests, despite previously turning them down.

Zelensky said Kiev now finds itself in a “nonsensical situation” due to the stance of the West, which “is afraid that Russia will lose the war. And it does not want Ukraine to lose it.”

“Ukraine’s final victory will lead to Russia’s defeat. And the final victory of Russia will lead to Ukraine’s defeat,” he added.

The Ukrainian authorities “want the war to end with a fair peace for us. Of course, the West wants the war to end. Period. As soon as possible. And, for them, this is a fair peace,”the president stated.

On Friday, Russia President Vladimir Putin reiterated that Moscow “never rejected negotiations unlike the Ukrainian side,”referring to a 2022 decree by Zelensky, which officially forbade him from talks with his Russian counterpart.

However, Putin stressed that Russia will not yield to “ultimatums” from Kiev and its Western backers as they try to gain though diplomacy what they have failed to gain on the battlefield.

https://www.rt.com/news/597817-zelensky-ukraine-us-weapons/