Republican Trump laughs and laughs
Amanda Kondrat'yev, the woman who threw a red slushie drink on
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz at a campaign event in June, was sentenced
Monday to 15 days in prison for assaulting a U.S. congressman.
The 35-year-old wife and mother of two, who briefly ran against
Gaetz as a Democratic challenger in the 2016 election, will turn
herself in to the U.S. Marshals to begin her sentence Dec. 2.
Kondrat'yev pleaded guilty in August and admitted to throwing
the cup at Gaetz as he was leaving the Brew Ha Ha restaurant for
an "Open Gaetz" event on June 1.
Sentencing guidelines called for a prison sentence of eight
months to a year, but U.S. Magistrate Judge Hope Cannon said the
fact that Kondrat'yev had no prior criminal history and that the
crime in question had a "limited duration" justified a departure
from those guidelines.
But still, "the fact that there was no bodily injury or harm
does not make this crime count any less," the judge said, adding
that public elected officials should be able to hold office
without fear of being assaulted.
In addition to the 15 days in prison, Kondrat'yev will serve one
year of supervised probation and pay a $500 fine. She will
likely be held at the Santa Rosa County Jail, which has a
contract with the federal government to house inmates for short
periods of times, according to her attorney.
Gaetz attended the hearing Monday morning, donning a brown suit
and declining to answer questions from reporters ahead of the
sentencing.
During court, the congressman gave a statement to the judge in
which he asked the Kondrat'yev be sentenced to prison.