Judge assigned to Trump’s Jan. 6 case is a tough punisher of Capitol rioters

WASHINGTON — The federal judge assigned to the election fraud case against former President Donald Trump has stood out as one of the toughest punishers of rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attack fueled by Trump’s baseless claims of a stolen election. Trump is to appear Thursday before U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, a former assistant public defender who was nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama. She often has handed down prison sentences in Jan. 6, 2021, riot cases that are harsher than Justice Department prosecutors recommended. Chutkan has ruled against Trump before in a separate Jan. 6 case. Some of those protesters became violent,” Chutkan said during an October 2021 hearing.