Fresno anti-mask zealot arrested & charged over Capitol riot. Can I get a hallelujah?
There’s so much bad news in the world these days, but once in a while a story comes along that lifts the spirits.
Such as reading about Ben Martin, Fresno’s angriest and most unhinged right-wing activist, getting arrested on a half-dozen charges stemming from his participation in the Jan. 6 MAGA mob takeover of the U.S. Capitol.
Can I get a hallelujah?
While it’s not my typical place to mine personal satisfaction from the legal misfortune of others, Martin merits a special exemption. Because if any central San Joaquin Valley resident deserves to have a phalanx of federal prosecutors and FBI agents descend upon them and make life miserable, it’s him.
Actions have consequences. Thanks to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Columbia for the reminder.
Of the 600 people who’ve been arrested for storming the Capitol while Congress was in joint session to tally electoral college votes, Martin was not among the most unruly. He didn’t brawl with Capitol police. He didn’t break into an office and steal Nancy Pelosi’s computer. He wasn’t carrying anything more lethal than a smartphone.
As a result, the six federal charges levied against Martin are fairly tame. Since Martin wasn’t armed and didn’t cause significant bodily injury, all six may end up being misdemeanors according to my own amateur interpretation of the legal statutes. The most serious (entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds) are punishable by a fine and up to a year imprisonment.
Did light brush with Fresno PD create false comfort?
Knowing what we do about our legal system, as well Martin’s privileged background, no one should be the least bit surprised if he gets off with a light sentence. Nonetheless, simply getting to that point will require significant hassle and disruption — not to mention oodles in legal fees.
Which in a way is fitting, considering the hassle and disruption Martin caused area shoppers earlier this year by staging a string of anti-mask demonstrations directly outside the front entrance to two north Fresno supermarkets.
The right of Martin and his ilk to demonstrate without a permit and shout legal falsehoods trumps everyone else’s rights to buy groceries, apparently.
Needless to say, Martin faced zero consequences for those actions — unless you consider a stern talking-to by Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama as that. (I certainly didn’t, even though the demonstrations have stopped.)
Perhaps Martin’s soft brush with Fresno’s finest left him with a false sense of comfort that January day in Washington, D.C. Perhaps Martin assumed he’d be able to get away with breaching the Capitol’s police-maintained security perimeter while livestreaming to gullible social media followers. That his bushy beard, red Trump hat and black puffer jacket wouldn’t be identifiable in news coverage and security footage.
Furthermore, Martin may not have guessed one of his high school classmates would recognize him on TV and send the FBI his date of birth, cell phone number and home number. Or that his own words in published interviews, admitting he went inside the building, would be used against him in a federal case.
Oh, well. Those are the breaks.
How not to ‘negotiate’ and ‘de-escalate’ at Capitol riot
Martin remained in custody Friday following a federal court hearing in Fresno during which we can only hope was forced to wear a mask. Irony is best served covered, is it not?
During interviews with the local media and FBI agents, Martin claimed he entered the Capitol without intending to and tried to play the role of peacemaker: “I was trying to negotiate with both sides to de-escalate the issue,” he said in a statement included in the 13-page charging document.
In fact, Martin was such a de-escalating presence that security footage shows him yelling at law enforcement to do their jobs and then holding open a door in a crowded corridor — releasing his grip only after getting sprayed in the face with “a chemical irritant” by someone inside.
Who says there’s no justice?
Despite the serious-sounding nature of the charges and the incentive of federal prosecutors to make an example of Capitol rioters, I still think Martin gets off easy. (Or maybe I’m conditioned to think that way because that’s what typically happens to people like him.)
Even so, the life of Fresno’s angriest and most unhinged right-wing activist has suddenly become all kinds of miserable.
It’s enough to cast a small ray of sunshine upon an otherwise gloomy time.
This story was originally published September 5, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
