Wesley Somers, who pled guilty in connection to the Nashville Courthouse riot that occurred in May 2020, had his sentencing hearing postponed for the fourth time because a continuance was requested.
According to the clerk’s office of the Middle District of Tennessee Court, Somers is now scheduled to be sentenced on March 23 by Judge Aleta Trauger. Trauger was the judge who granted the motion to continue and reset the date.
Somers’ original sentencing date, December 1, 2021, had been moved to January 18, then to February 22, then to March 8, and now to the current date, March 23.
The Tennessee Star previously reported that the January date postponement happened after Somers’ defense counsel made an unopposed motion to postpone the hearing and the motion was granted.
At that time, documents showed that Somers’ defense counsel, R. David Baker, felt he needed more time to prepare for the sentencing hearing in light of the information contained in the pre-sentence report, which included an enhancement to the offense level. What “an enhancement to the offense level” refers to is unclear.
As of the January filing, defense counsel planned to call Dr. Kimberly Brown as a witness at the sentencing hearing in order to discuss a psychological evaluation of Somers. It is unclear if the defense still plans to do so or not.
Somers was initially arrested and charged due to evidence found on various social media platforms and other websites. The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated at the time, “Numerous video clips and photographs of the destruction at the Courthouse were posted on social media websites, on the websites for news outlets, and on other Internet sites. Somers is depicted in video clips and photographs from that evening attempting to smash windows of the Courthouse. One photograph depicted Somers holding an unknown accelerant, which had been set on fire, and placing the accelerant through the window of the Courthouse.”
Somers pled guilty to the federal charge of malicious destruction of property using fire or explosives due to his actions at the Metro Nashville Courthouse on May 30, 2020. Somers was the first person arrested in connection to the courthouse fire. The attempted burning down of the Metro Courthouse occurred during riots connected to George Floyd protests in Nashville.
In connection with the same incident, Shelby Ligons of Nashville also pled guilty to the federal charge of malicious destruction of property using fire or explosives. She was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison. Additional penalties incurred by Ligons included three years of supervised release upon the completion of the term of imprisonment, restitution in the amount of $500, and a fee of $100.
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]. Follow Aaron on GETTR.
