We have previously noted the tremendous, tremendous! seriousness of the January 6^th ‘insurrection’ in our nation’s capital, what I have frequently called the Capitol kerfuffle.

And now we see the draconian sentence to which Thomas and Lori Vinson were subjected following their guilty plea three months ago:

Kentucky couple who were part of mob that stormed the Capitol receive sentence

By Karla Ward | Friday, October 22, 2021 | 8:22 PM EDT

A Western Kentucky couple who participated in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol were sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

Both Thomas and Lori Vinson were sentenced to five years’ probation, fined $5,000 and ordered to pay restitution of $500, court records show.

U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton also ordered the Vinsons to perform 120 hours of community service, the Associated Press reported.

There’s more at the original.

Like the majority of the Capitol kerfufflers, Mr and Mrs Vinson were initially charged with four offenses:

• 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(1) – Knowingly Entering or Remaining in any Restricted Building or Grounds Without Lawful Authority. Since the Vinsons were not accused of harming anyone or carrying a deadly weapon, the maximum punishment under (b)(2) is a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, in any other case.
• 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(2) – Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds. Since the Vinsons were not accused of harming anyone or carrying a deadly weapon, the maximum punishment under (b)(2) is a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, in any other case.
• 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(D) – Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building: utter loud, threatening, or abusive language, or engage in disorderly or disruptive conduct, at any place in the Grounds or in any of the Capitol Buildings with the intent to impede, disrupt, or disturb the orderly conduct of a session of Congress or either House of Congress, or the orderly conduct in that building of a hearing before, or any deliberations of, a committee of Congress or either House of Congress; The penalty for violating 40 U.S.C. §5104(e)(2) is a misdemeanor conviction punishable by a maximum fine of $5,000 fine or up to six months in prison, or both.
• 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(G) – Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building; The penalty for violating 40 U.S.C. §5104(e)(2) is a misdemeanor conviction punishable by a maximum fine of $5,000 or up to six months in prison, or both.

The Vinsons were allowed to plead to only the fourth listed offense, which has been the case with almost all of the kerfufflers. The Vinsons said that they were very sorry for their actions, and the judge found their actions so serious that they were sentenced to spend exactly zero days in jail.

Attorney General Merrick Garland absotively, posilutely hates Republicans, because then-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) refused to allow the Senate to even consider President Obama’s nomination of then-Judge Garland to the Supreme Court seat left empty when Associate Justice Antonin Scalia died, yet even Mr Garland couldn’t find the ‘insurrection’ serious enough to seriously push felony charges against most of them.

Lori Vinson provided this photo of herself and Thomas Ray Vinson outside the U.S. Capitol to a local news station, according to the FBI. Photo via an FBI Statement of facts.

We have previously noted the McClatchy Mugshot Policy, and the Herald-Leader’s very biased choices in making exceptions to it. The paper decided against publishing mugshots of two black accused murderers on the loose, but has been perfectly willing to publish photos of white criminal suspects who are already in custody.

And so we have the photo to the right of Lori and Thomas Vinson. Yes, they have now been convicted, but the Herald-Leader published the same photo in their story of their arrest, before they were convicted of anything.

Marlon Griffin. October 19, 2021. Photo by Fayette County Detention Center, and is a public record.

Still, the Vinsons have been convicted of a single misdemeanor count, sentenced to probation, and what my late best friend used to call the Herald-Liberal went ahead and used their photo, again. Yet the paper declined to post the mugshot of Marlon Griffin, 23, charged with eight felony counts for shooting two people on Endon Drive, and Mr Griffin is already a convicted felon with at least two prior arrests.^[1]One of Mr Griffin’s prior arrests occurred just three months after he turned 18. Juvenile records are, of course, sealed, and while it’s not a matter of public record, I would say that … Continue reading

Why, it’s almost as though the only real newspaper in Kentucky’s second largest city, which covers most of central and eastern Kentucky, has an agenda or something!

Amusingly enough, the Herald-Leader is running a fund-raising campaign, saying:

Your friends and neighbors — people across our communities — are seeking complete and accurate information as they navigate the news, their lives and the changes around us.

And information is more complex than ever. That’s why we at the Lexington Herald-Leader are launching a new fall fundraising campaign to boost our coverage. We are asking for your support of our health reporting as well as Eastern Kentucky coverage in partnership with Report for America.

Your tax-deductible donation can help make it happen.

What this means for you, our readers: More eyes on issues that need more attention. More fair and measured coverage of all of our communities. A boost to our clear-headed watchdog approach.

And we’re stronger when the voices of all members of our community are part of the conversation.

Will you join our newsroom campaign to help support more local journalism in this critical area?

Thank you for supporting our newsroom and the future of local journalism. And thank you for being a contributor to this community-funded effort on local reporting.

“More fair and measured coverage of all of our communities,” huh? It seems as though the newspaper’s coverage is anything but fair, exhibiting a distinct and documented, by me, lack of fairness.

I would love to see the Herald-Leader have some expanded coverage, but it needs to be fair coverage, unbiased coverage. I’m not seeing that yet.