On the face of it, Judge McFadden probably earned himself major brownie points on his way to becoming a Supreme Court jurist one day. Call me a conspiracy theorist (and a cynic), but I think the far-right radicals notice such things and will reward those judges who play along to get along.

Source: Ryan Reilly/NBC News

WASHINGTON — A federal judge nominated by former President Donald Trump gave a “break” Friday to a man who used bear spray during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, saying he did not deserve the prison sentence requested by prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden sentenced Tyler Bensch, who pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts in connection with the riot, to two years of probation and 60 days home incarceration. Prosecutors had requested nine months in federal prison.

“You participated in a national embarrassment,” McFadden said before imposing the sentence. “You came ready for trouble.”

But, he added, Bensch's involvement was “pretty minor” when compared to others, while noting that his age was a mitigating factor. Bensch was 19 years old on Jan. 6, 2021.

“I am giving you this break because of your age” at the time and a lack of criminal history, McFadden said. “This doesn’t need to define you or your life.”

What a nice judge, letting the young man have sixty days of home incarceration where he can still go to work and will likely just ignore it the rest of the time. But it gets worse. This Capitol rioter also wants to be a policeman, which is fine by this judge.

A tearful Bensch did not speak during Friday's sentencing hearing, but his court-appointed attorney Peter Cooper said the Florida man deeply regretted his actions. Bensch, Cooper said, "didn't have the maturity to understand what he was getting into" and "carries great remorse for what he did that day."

Cooper went on to say that Bensch hopes to start a career in law enforcement, adding that it's "not beyond the realm of possibility" that he could do so even with his misdemeanors.

Ok, so all this sounds ludicrous on the face of it, but probably not any worse than what other Trump-appointed judges have done. So who is Judge Trevor McFadden?

- "The former Baker McKenzie white-collar partner earlier served on Trump's transition team, vetting potential cabinet picks."

- "In February 2021, McFadden received widespread media attention when he approved an uncontested travel request by Jenny Cudd, who faced two misdemeanor charges in connection with the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol and wanted to travel to Mexico for a "weekend retreat with her employees".

- "In March 2022, Judge McFadden blocked a DC rule which would allow minors to elect to be vaccinated without parental consent, concluding that it violated the parents' religious liberty."

Also of note, "A self-identified FBI whistleblower sacrificed his career because he didn’t wanna transport Tyler Bensch and send him to “the gallows” in DC."

We're watching democracy erode right before our eyes, folks.