{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-demands-answers-about-doj-leniency-for-left-wing-arsonist", "Cotton Demands Answers About DOJ Leniency for Left-Wing Arsonist", "2022-02-07", "2022", "2022-02", "Republican", "Senate", "AR", "Tom Cotton", "C001095", "www.cotton.senate.gov", "cotton", "https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: James Arnold or Mary Collins Atkinson (202) 224-2353\n\nFebruary 7, 2022\n\nCotton Demands Answers About DOJ Leniency for Left-Wing Arsonist\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2014 Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland regarding reports that the U.S. Attorney\u2019s office requested a significantly reduced sentence for Montez Lee, who plead guilty to one count of Arson, because the crime was committed during BLM riots.\n\nIn part, Cotton wrote, \u201cIn August 2020, the United States Attorney\u2019s Office in Minnesota indicted Lee on one count of Arson and he pleaded guilty on July 22, 2021. The sentencing guidelines called for a sentence of around 20 years. But the U.S. Attorney\u2019s office filed a Sentencing Memorandum asking for half this time. Most shockingly, the U.S. Attorney defended Montez Lee and expressed sympathy for his murderous arson because Lee\u2019s crime was committed during the BLM riots.\u201d\n\n\u201cShowing leniency towards a career criminal who committed murder is bad enough. But justifying the murder because the career criminal shares the Biden Administration\u2019s politics is beyond the pale. The American people deserve to know whether leniency for left-wing murderers is the official policy of the Biden Department of Justice, or whether this travesty was a one-off,\u201d Cotton continued.\n\nText of the letter may be found here and below.\n\nThe Honorable Merrick Garland\n\nU.S. Department of Justice\n\n950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW\n\nWashington, D.C. 20530-0001\n\nDear Attorney General Garland,\n\nOn May 28, 2020, Montez Lee set fire to a pawn shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and murdered a 30-year-old father of five.\n\nIn August 2020, the United States Attorney\u2019s Office in Minnesota indicted Lee on one count of Arson and he pleaded guilty on July 22, 2021. The sentencing guidelines called for a sentence of around 20 years. But the U.S. Attorney\u2019s office filed a Sentencing Memorandum asking for half this time. Most shockingly, the U.S. Attorney defended Montez Lee and expressed sympathy for his murderous arson because Lee\u2019s crime was committed during the BLM riots.\n\nShowing leniency towards a career criminal who committed murder is bad enough. But justifying the murder because the career criminal shares the Biden Administration\u2019s politics is beyond the pale.\n\nThe American people deserve to know whether leniency for left-wing murderers is the official policy of the Biden Department of Justice, or whether this travesty was a one-off.\n\nPlease provide answers to the following questions by February 21, 2022.\n\nDoes the Attorney General believe participation in a riot is a basis for leniency in sentencing individuals for violent crimes?\n\nIn the Sentencing Memorandum, the government concludes that Montez Lee \u201cdoes not appear to pose a danger to the public.\u201d The Sentencing Memorandum stated that Lee, who was 25 when he committed this crime, had been convicted for burglary, domestic violence, and theft. The government also acknowledged that, in his domestic violence case, Montez Lee violently ruptured his girlfriend\u2019s eardrum. Given these convictions, all committed in a truncated period before Lee was even 25 and which put him at Criminal History Level IV (out of VI), please describe how the government concluded that Lee posed no danger to the community.\n\nPlease provide all communications between the United States Attorney\u2019s Office for Minnesota and any political appointees at the Department of Justice regarding the sentencing recommendation for Montez Lee.\n\nSincerely,", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T01:57:46Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-demands-answers-about-doj-leniency-for-left-wing-arsonist"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7962710224092007, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}