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The 63-month sentence Chutkan imposed was the harshest yet handed down in the more than 700 Capitol riot prosecutions. Prosecutors had sought the lengthy jail term, which was nearly two years longer than the sentences handed down to Jacob Chansley — known as the QAnon Shaman — and Scott Fairlamb, who pleaded guilty to assaulting an officer.

Her remarks upon sentencing included a stirring defense of police officers, deputy U.S. marshals and members of Congress, who she said were the real patriots that day. She also lamented that the Jan. 6 rioters appeared to be treated more gently by police than they might’ve been if they were non-white.

The 90-minute long sentencing hearing was wrenching at times, as Palmer came to grips with the lengthy sentence he was facing. Through tears, he pleaded for leniency, with his children nearby in the courtroom. One of them, Robert Palmer Jr., also urged the judge for leniency.

But Chutkan, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, said her sentence needed to also factor in the grave threat to democracy posed by crimes like the one Palmer committed, particularly as evidence continues to emerge of threats to future elections.

“It has to be made clear that trying to violently overthrow the government, trying to stop the peaceful transition of power, meets absolutely certain punishment,” she said. “Not staying at home. Not watching Netflix.”

Palmer’s defense lawyer urged the judge when fashioning the sentence to take into account that the political leaders who helped stoke the unrest that led to the assault on the Capitol had not been punished.

Chutkan said she agreed with that observation, but emphasized it was not her role to decide who’s charged.

“I don’t have any influence over that. I have my opinions, but they are not relevant,” Chutkan replied. “You’re correct in that…No one who was encouraging everybody to take the Capitol has been charged as of yet.”

But she said any decisions to seek charges against those actors are not in her purview. “I don’t charge anybody,” Chutkan said.

Justice Department officials have said they are looking at anyone who may have committed a crime in connection with the events of Jan. 6, but there has been no sign of a concerted federal investigation into Trump or numerous allies whose fiery rhetoric and advocacy contributed to the violence.

The probe into whether leaders bear responsibility has largely been the province of the Jan. 6 select committee in the House, which has probed Trump’s efforts to overturn the election and his actions as supporters stormed the Capitol.

Palmer made a brief statement, expressing remorse for his actions. In his remarks he mentioned that while he was in prison, he watched a video clip from MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show” about his own case.

“I was horrified, absolutely devastated, to see myself on there,” he said. “I can tell you, my memory is just not what it should be sometimes. It just brought back what actually happened. Those officers were so brave just standing there, taking what the people were giving them … I’m just so ashamed I was part of that.”

Chutkan said that while the rioters cloaked themselves in claims of patriotism, they were not acting patriotically on Jan. 6.

Palmer’s trip to D.C., attendance at Trump’s rally and march to the Capitol itself were not punishable, she said. It was when he breached police lines and repeatedly attacked officers that he ran afoul of the law. Those police, she said, were the true heroes.

“They were the patriots that day, Mr. Palmer,” the judge said. “That day, U.S. Marshals ran from this courthouse to the Capitol. They put themselves in danger to protect the occupants of that Capitol….They are the patriots and some of them did not know if they were going to see their children again that night.”

“They deserve the thanks of this nation and didn’t deserve to have a fire extinguisher thrown at them. They didn’t deserve to be called names, to be spat on,” Chutkan added.

The judge said she was pleased to learn that, unlike many Jan. 6 defendants, Palmer recently agreed to be vaccinated for the coronavirus. However, she stressed that she wasn’t imposing sentences based on the political views or health views of defendants.

“I’m not punishing anyone for who they support — for the flying spaghetti monster or what your political beliefs are,” she said.

Chutkan, who has previously mused publicly about whether Jan. 6 defendants had been treated more leniently than typical D.C. defendants, said she’s not sure the usual criminal defendants in her court would have faced non-lethal munitions.

“I wonder Mr. Palmer whether some of the people that I see before me on a regular basis in this courtroom, charged with drug offenses and other offenses that are usually the subject of federal charges, if they had tried to storm the Capitol that day if they would have been met with rubber bullets, and I suspect not.”

Chutkan, noting Palmer’s mention of MSNBC, said she was pleased that Palmer was diversifying his intake of media but said it comes with a caveat.

“You tell me you’re watching MSNBC. I think a steady diet of any one of these cable shows is probably not a good idea for anybody,” the judge said.

Chutkan also suggested consumption of just one strain of media helped set in motion the events of the Capitol Riot and the consequences for people like Palmer.

“We might not have had Jan. 6, but people get very siloed and they listen to an echo chamber of information,” she said.