Updated April 29, 2021 at 8:10 AM ET
A New York City man charged with making online threats to kill members of Congress after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol has been found guilty and now faces up to 10 years in jail.
The jury took about three hours to deliberate in the case of Brendan Hunt, who acknowledged that he had written the online statements but dismissed them as “blather” produced under the influence of marijuana and alcohol.
He testified that that he never believed the posts would be taken seriously.
“I was really just letting off steam,” Hunt said, according to The Associated Press. “It was really more online blather than anything else.”
Student loan debt cancellation, filibuster reform, refugee admissions, the hot stock market and changes to the Supreme Court have all generated vigorous debate between the parties and among Democrats but were all absent from his remarks.
Some of the omissions were notable because they deviated from policy priorities the progressive wing of his party has been pushing. Others marked a break from his predecessor’s favorite topics.
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Student loan debt
Advocates who have prioritized canceling $50,000 of student loan debt were upset when Biden made no mention of an issue they consider essential.
While Biden aligns himself with progressives on various measures from pro-union policies to climate change, he disagrees with that part of the party, which includes Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer
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“It’s upsetting that President Biden didn’t even mention student debt, let alone provide even a hint of recourse to the millions of student loan borrowers who are in crisis right now,” said Ross Floyd, organizing director at Student Action, a group that supports free college and the full cancellation of student debt. “After being denied some stimulus checks, what students really need is relief especially coming out of this pandemic when we’re trying to jump-start our economy.”
The president s speech did include nods toward other issues being pushed by progressives such as calling for policing reform, climate change action, pro-LGBTQ policies and pro-union policies.
Although he was not at the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, Brendan Hunt allegedly posted statements on social media prior to and following the riot calling on people to kill elected officials.