You’re delusional if you feel he’ll serve anywhere near that, let alone not be pardoned
No, CrayCray. Those would not be delusional beliefs. There is no parole in the federal prison system and federal prisoners almost always serve at least 85% of their sentences. So Rhodes can minimally expect 15.3 years before he gets out which is definitely "anywhere near" 18 years.
You are correct that if Trump wins the election, Rhodes has a near 100% chance of being pardoned. But Trump's odds of winning the election are 50%.
So there is no delusion at all in believing that it is likely that Rhodes will be in federal prison until 2039 at least. You would have to be delusional not to believe that.
A man who didn’t enter the capitol, who didn’t have a weapon, etc. is sentenced to 18 years in federal prison where 95% of the jury pool are Democrats. No surprise. Not lopsided justice by any measure. Remind me how many of the arsonists, funders and planners behind the BLM riots received similar sentences.
What about the Antifa and BLM "protestors" burning down businesses?
If caught in the act, do you think anyone doing this was somehow let off? And if protesters were arrested for their actions, would you call them political prisoners or "opposition leaders"?
Today's far right just wishes that it had the power to do the same thing-- or much worse-- to its political enemies. Stuart Rhodes and his fellow travelers have shown by both word and deed that don't care about legal norms or the constitution. They are dangerously deluded and are fortunate to have been treated as fairly as they have been by the US legal system. In a regime more to their own liking they, as the losing side politically, would have been summarily executed. This would be the fate of the left in the fascist America of their dreams, should it dare to make a similar play for power.