Politico reports:
A Jan. 6 defendant’s boast in an interview this week that he had no regrets about his role in the Capitol riot — just days after he acknowledged his guilt in a federal courtroom — may upend the man’s efforts to resolve the criminal case against him.
U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta issued an order Friday instructing defendant Thomas Adams Jr. and prosecutors to explain why the guilty findings the judge entered on Tuesday, following a brief “stipulated” bench trial should not be overturned in light of Adams’ comments to a reporter the following day.
“I wouldn’t change anything I did,” Adams told the State Journal-Register Wednesday outside his home in Springfield, Ill. “I didn’t do anything. I still to this day, even though I had to admit guilt [in the stipulation], don’t feel like I did what the charge is.”
The AP reported on this issue just today:
Appearing before a federal judge after pleading guilty to a felony charge in the deadly Capitol riot, former West Virginia lawmaker Derrick Evans expressed remorse for letting down his family and his community, saying he made a “crucial mistake.”
Less than a year later, Evans is portraying himself as a victim of a politically motivated prosecution as he runs to serve in the same building he stormed on Jan. 6, 2021. Evans is now calling the Justice Department’s Jan. 6 prosecutions a “miscarriage of justice” and describes himself on twitter as a “J6 Patriot.”
Evans joins a series of Jan. 6 defendants who — when up against possible prison time in court — have expressed regret for joining the pro-Trump mob that rattled the foundations of American democracy only to strike a different tone or downplay the riot after receiving their punishment.
The mugshot above is from Adams’ 2016 conviction on drug charges. Adams has a long criminal record and has spent four years in an Illinois prison.
Some Jan. 6 defendants who have expressed remorse in court for joining the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol have later struck a different tone or downplayed the deadly riot publicly. https://t.co/rWicRVxog3
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) February 3, 2023
Judge calls #Jan6 defendant Thomas Adams on carpet after he admits to entering Senate floor without permission during #CapitolRiot, but says in news interview next day he has no regrets and isn’t really guilty. w/@kyledcheney https://t.co/dWoauus5EM
— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) February 3, 2023
ARRAIGNMENT set for Wednesday for US Capitol breach defendant Thomas Adams of Illinois
Adams is accused of being among first to enter US Capitol and bringing Trump flag on to Senate floor.
Per feds, Adams told a reporter some of the scene on jan 6 was “hilarious” pic.twitter.com/TXtziqw7Y6
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) May 31, 2021
?? UPDATE ??
#Consequences#Jan6thInsurrectionTHOMAS ADAMS, JR ⤵️, 41, of Springfield, Illinois, was found GUILTY of a felony charge relating to his actions at the Capitol in 1/6
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 16, 2023.https://t.co/zCy9GAVB8A pic.twitter.com/SPXUzxdps9
— Walter Klingler (@WalterKlingler) February 2, 2023
#Springfield resident, Thomas Adams, was found guilty of felony obstruction of an official proceeding, aiding and abetting entering and the misdemeanor of remaining in a restricted building or grounds during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. https://t.co/aDlKktK9C6 pic.twitter.com/xnevX8DmO1
— FBI Springfield (@FBISpringfield) February 2, 2023