Robert Scott Palmer

In 2021, committed to the pursuit of freedom, he traveled from his home in Largo, FL, and joined fellow protesters at the “Save America” rally. He was profoundly moved by Trump’s speech.

Robert, along with the other supporters, responded to Trump’s call to action to “go to the Capitol and try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country…peacefully and patriotically.”

In this highly charged emotional atmosphere, Robert found himself standing in front of the archway leading from the lower left terrace to the interior of the capitol. After receiving a face full of pepper spray, he bent down to wipe his eyes and noticed a fire extinguisher on the ground. He proceeded to pick up the fire extinguisher and spray the contents of it at the officers until it was empty. He then threw the fire extinguisher at the officers.

Surveillance video shows that Robert Palmer did not carry any weapons with him to the U.S. Capitol. He says the common objects he used as weapons against police literally just appeared at his feet (FBI or Antifa?) and were not items he went searching for.

Clay Higgins, a congressman from Louisiana has investigated J6.  Because the “J6 committee” destroyed all their investigative documents, Higgins was forced to re-interview many of those involved.  His findings were that hundreds of FBI agents were in the crowd and awaiting in the capitol to lead protestors to key offices.  Those FBI agents dressed as Trump supporters in the crowd were instigators.  It remains to be seen if they were responsible for many of the mace and pepper sprays and fire extinguishers that were not brought in but suddenly “appeared.”

In a state of heightened arousal, the fire extinguisher was not the only item Robert hurled at police. He also threw a 4-to-5-foot wooden pole, aiming it “like a spear” as described in court documents, an orange traffic cone, a piece of scaffolding, and a wooden plank. There was no specific injury tied to his conduct. “It was a horrible decision, says Robert. “I was caught up in the moment.” Robert’s son, Robert Scott Palmer Jr., also addressed the court. “I do not in any way condone the actions that took place,” said the son, “While it is severe and unacceptable, it is just a brief moment.”

After his March 17, 2021 arrest, a donation website was set up to help with his defense where he called himself a “proud American patriot who went to DC to support our president and to witness the overturn of the election.” Due to various comments Robert made on his fundraising page, the judge determined that he was “still denying culpability for the defense” and did not give him as much credit for accepting responsibility for his crime when calculating the sentence.

Despite writing a handwritten letter to Judge Tanya S. Chunkan asking for mercy and understanding and to sentence him to no more than two years.  Judge Chunkan showed him no mercy.  On the contrary, Robert received one of the harshest sentences of all the January 6 inmates. He pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia on Oct. 4, 2021, to assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon. In addition to his 63-month prison term, Chunkan ordered him to pay $2,000 in restitution. He also must serve a period of three years of supervised release following the completion of his prison term.

Robert’s attorney asked that he be incarcerated at a facility in Florida, close to his family, and that he receives mental health and drug treatment for his struggles with depression and substance abuse, which Judge Chunkan did recommend. 

With a graying beard and long disheveled hair, Robert agreed to a video interview while in prison. He disclosed that they did not allow him to trim his beard or hair for the first five months. The general population in the prison hates the J6rs and routinely abuses them.  They have had urine and feces thrown in their faces.

Due to Robert and others joining a prison “sit out,” officials eventually moved the January 6 inmates to the Central Treatment Facility, a separate, smaller building on the main campus. Robert shared that at exactly 9:00 pm every evening, he and his fellow inmates go up to the top, someone holding the American flag, and they sing the national anthem.

Robert needs your prayers, your advocacy and your support.  Had he been tried anywhere else in the country, he’d be free right now.  The Antifa members that threw bricks at the heads of police officers or beat them with skateboards, permanently brain damaging many officers during the 2020 riots received no jail time.