Kentucky couple at Capitol riot ordered to pay $10,000
Thomas and Lori Vinson — who said in two televised interviews that she would “do it again” — received a hefty fine and probationary sentence but avoided jail time.
Samantha Hawkins / October 22, 2021
WASHINGTON (CN) — A federal judge on Friday sentenced a Kentucky couple who took part in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot to five years of probation with a fine of $5,000 each, the longest probationary sentence and biggest fine given out to Capitol rioters yet.
It’s also the maximum amount allowed for unlawful picketing charges that the couple pleaded guilty to in July.
“I know that’s a lot, but I want the sentence to hurt,” U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton said at Lori Ann Vinson and Thomas Roy Vinson’s sentencing hearing. “People have to understand that if you do something like this, it’s going to hurt.”
Though the government recommended a one-month prison sentence for Lori Vinson — and three months of home confinement for her husband — Walton acquiesced to a tearful plea from the defendant, who said that she didn’t know what the disabled adults she cares for would do without her. But, Walton noted that it was hard for him to not give Vinson time behind bars.
“If you are going to engage in these types of behaviors that undermine and subvert our governmental process, you’re going to pay for it,” the George W. Bush-appointed judge said. “Democracies die when citizens rise up against their governments and engage in the type of events that happened on Jan. 6.”
more
https://www.courthousenews.com/kentucky-couple-at-capitol-riot-ordered-to-pay-10000/
