A Texas man will spend nearly two years behind bars for his role in the Jan. 6 riot in which he grappled with cops and stayed inside the U.S. Capitol grounds for about two hours as they prevented Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 Presidential election.

U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell on Friday sentenced 33-year-old Dustin Ray Williams to 22 months in prison followed by three years of probation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Williams pleaded guilty on July 11 to assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers.

More coverage from Law&Crime: Jan. 6 rioter who assaulted D.C. cops gets another conviction for planning ‘assassination missions’ on FBI agents

FBI agents received a tip in the days following the riot after Williams posted a video on Facebook describing the “TRUTH” about the riots, a criminal complaint said. He claimed he did not commit any violence or vandalism. He described the rally in which then-President Donald Trump fed his supporters lies about a stolen election as peaceful. Williams then peddled the debunked theory that the riot was “a sophisticated, orchestrated infiltration conducted by Antifa and funded by the ‘Swamp.””

But video from the Capitol showed that Williams had indeed rioted, and was easy to spot.

Williams wore a bright orange construction shirt with the name of a Colorado business he previously did business with, feds said. The shirt had the name and phone number of the business on the back, resulting in the owner reportedly receiving a slew of angry and threatening phone calls.

1. Home
2. Daily News
3. 2 BigLaw firms ‘fighting it out in the lateral…

Law Firms

2 BigLaw firms ‘fighting it out in the lateral market’ vote to merge

By Debra Cassens Weiss

September 9, 2024, 3:32 pm CDT

Partners at Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders and Locke Lord have voted to merge effective Jan. 1, 2025.

The new law firm will be called Troutman Pepper Locke, according to press releases here and here and stories by Law.com, Law360 and Bloomberg Law.

The combined firm will have more than 1,600 lawyers in 33 U.S. offices and two European offices in London and Brussels.

The firm’s new chair will be Tom Cole, chair of Troutman Pepper. Troutman Pepper Locke’s current revenues would give it a No. 28 ranking in the Am Law 100 list of top-grossing firms, according to a fact sheet.

The firms confirmed merger talks in April. Partners approved the merger Sept. 5.

Legal consultant Kent Zimmermann of the Zeughauser Group told Law360 that he proposed the merger early this year in his role as an adviser at Troutman Pepper.

Both firms were “fighting it out in the lateral market” because they both focus on the same six industry sectors, Zimmermann said.

“I would call it the most strategic law firm recombination in recent memory,” he told Law360.

According to a press release, the firms share practice strengths in industries that include energy, financial services, health care and life sciences, insurance and reinsurance, private equity and real estate.

1. Home
2. Daily News
3. Justice Thomas’ wife reportedly thanked group…

U.S. Supreme Court

Justice Thomas’ wife reportedly thanked group for fighting Supreme Court reform

By Debra Cassens Weiss

September 5, 2024, 10:10 am CDT

Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, thanked a religious liberty group in an email for fighting Supreme Court reform, according to a recording of a call led by the group’s president and CEO.

Kelly Shackelford, leader of the First Liberty Institute, a group that litigates religious liberty cases, said he was reading from parts of Ginni Thomas’ email in his July 31 donor call, according to a story by ProPublica and Documented, which obtained the recording.

Thomas reportedly sent the email soon after President Joe Biden proposed three reforms: term limits for Supreme Court justices, a binding ethics code for the justices, and a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s recent decision on presidential immunity.

Thomas reportedly wrote to a staff member of the First Liberty Institute after a meeting.

“I cannot adequately express enough appreciation for you guys pulling into reacting to the Biden effort on the Supreme Court,” she wrote in the email, according to Shackelford. “Many were so depressed at the lack of response by R’s and conservatives” to reform proposals.

“You guys have filled the sails of many judges. Can I just tell you, thank you so, so, so much,” Thomas reportedly wrote in all capital letters.

Shackelford also criticized Justice Elena Kagan during the call for endorsing an enforcement mechanism for the Supreme Court’s new ethics code.

“That is incredible, somewhat treasonous, what Kagan did,” he said. “The chief justice rules the court. They’re trying to keep the other branches’ hands off of them. And then you’ve got Kagan from the inside really being somewhat disloyal and somewhat treasonous in what she’s doing.”

Hiram Sasser, executive general counsel at the First Liberty Institute, issued a statement in response to a request for comment by ProPublica and Documented.

“First Liberty is extremely alarmed at the leftist attacks on our democracy and judicial independence and is fighting to bring attention to this dangerous threat. It’s shameful that the political left seems perfectly fine destroying democracy to achieve the court decisions they favor instead of working through democratic and constitutional means,” Sasser wrote. “It is dangerous to the liberty of all Americans, regardless of political leanings, for any of the co-equal branches of government to seek to rule over another. Eighty-seven percent of Americans believe judicial independence is essential to protecting our civil rights. We will continue this fight for the future of our nation.”

Hat tip to How Appealing and Above the Law, which noted the story.

Thousands of veterans discharged from the military under the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy are still fighting to clear their record. CBS News chief investigative correspondent Jim Axelrod spoke with one veteran who has fought for years to regain her honor.