Summary
This D.C. Circuit opinion addresses an appeal by Jonathan Munafo following his guilty plea and 33-month sentence for offenses related to the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Munafo argued that the government breached his plea agreement by referencing certain statements at sentencing and failing to dismiss a pending state misdemeanor charge, and that his sentence appeared based on constitutionally protected political speech. The court held that Munafo forfeited the claim regarding the state charge and found no breach regarding the sentencing allocution under the agreement's reservation clause. Additionally, the court enforced Munafo's knowing and voluntary appeal waiver, finding no colorable miscarriage of justice or appearance of unconstitutional bias.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether Munafo preserved his claim that the plea agreement required dismissal of a pending, unrelated D.C. Superior Court misdemeanor assault charge.
- Whether the plea agreement's promise that Munafo would not be charged with certain pre-plea nonviolent offenses required dismissal of the already-pending misdemeanor charge.
- Whether the government's sentencing allocution concerning Munafo's statements, affiliations, and alleged misconduct breached the plea agreement.
- Whether Munafo's knowing and voluntary sentencing appeal waiver could be invalidated because his sentence allegedly appeared to rest on First Amendment-protected political beliefs or associations.
Holdings
- Munafo forfeited his objection that the plea agreement required dismissal of the pending misdemeanor assault charge because he did not obtain a ruling from the district court or otherwise press the objection after the court declined to address it.
- The plea agreement's promise that Munafo 'will not be charged' with specified nonviolent offenses applied only to hypothetical future charges based on pre-plea conduct; it did not require dismissal of an unrelated charge that had already been filed before the agreement.
- The government's sentencing allocution did not breach the plea agreement because the agreement expressly allowed both parties to describe fully Munafo's misconduct and inform the court of relevant facts, including misconduct not charged in the offenses of conviction.
- The court enforced Munafo's knowing, intelligent, and voluntary waiver of his right to appeal his sentence because he made no colorable claim that the sentence rested on a constitutionally impermissible factor or otherwise constituted a miscarriage of justice.
Key quotations
“The wording of the disputed clause does not require dismissal of the unrelated assault charge that was pending against Munafo when he entered the plea agreement in this case.” (9)
“No reasonable observer could view Munafo's sentence as potentially resting on any “constitutionally impermissible factor.”” (17)
Factual background
Munafo traveled to Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021, to support President Trump and joined the mob that breached the Capitol police line. At the Inauguration Tunnel, he punched Metropolitan Police Officer Neil McAllister twice and pulled away McAllister's riot shield while rioters attacked law enforcement. Munafo also repeatedly struck a Capitol Building window with a flagpole. At sentencing, the government discussed additional statements, affiliations, and alleged misconduct, while the district court stated that it based the sentence on Munafo's own conduct and background.
Procedural history
The United States charged Munafo with ten offenses arising from his participation in the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. He pleaded guilty to obstruction during a civil disorder under 18 U.S.C. § 231(a)(3) and assaulting, resisting, or impeding a federal officer under 18 U.S.C. § 111(a)(1), in exchange for the government's agreement to seek dismissal of the remaining indictment counts and other concessions. The parties agreed to a Guidelines range of 30 to 37 months, and the district court imposed a 33-month sentence, followed by supervised release and a special assessment. The D.C. Circuit affirmed.