Judge locks up 'Three Percenter' militia members in Jan. 6 obstruction case
Four California men who were associated with the "Three Percenter" militia were sentenced to prison in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
WASHINGTON — Four California men who were associated with the "Three Percenter" militia group and convicted in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol attack were taken into custody Friday after a judge ordered them to serve sentences ranging from 21 to 33 months in federal prison, far below what the government had requested.
Erik Scott Warner, Felipe Antonio Martinez, Derek Kinnison and Ronald Mele were all found guilty of felony obstruction of an official proceeding and other charges after a trial last year. One of their co-defendants, former California police chief Alan Hostetter, was sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison in December. The trials featured testimony from co-defendant Russell Taylor, who pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal with the government.
The felony charge they were convicted of — obstruction of an official proceeding — is currently before the Supreme Court, where some of the justices seemed skeptical of the way the government had used the charge. A decision in that case is expected in the coming months. If the Supreme Court guts the charge, two of the defendants could end up only serving 12 months in prison on their misdemeanor convictions.
The men communicated over a "The California Patriots — DC Brigade" Telegram chat and brought weapons on their trip to Washington to participate in Jan. 6, according to evidence shown at trial. They kept a shotgun in their car, and Kinnison and Mele claimed they stored five handguns in their hotel room "despite understanding that it was illegal," the government said. “We’re packing light just a scatter gun and a pistol a piece," Martinez joked, according to prosecutors.
Mele took photographs of the handguns, holsters, ammunition and magazines the group brought into their hotel room.U.S. District Court for the District of ColumbiaProsecutors had sought lengthy sentences for the foursome between 6.5 and eight years in federal prison, but Judge Royce Lamberth landed on much lower sentences within the guidelines range.
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