A Redondo Beach man who admitted to punching a reporter in the face while marching with a white supremacist group at a violent 2017 pro-Trump rally in Huntington Beach was sentenced to time already served in custody and a year of supervised release by a federal judge who once again criticized prosecutors for allegedly focusing on “far-right” groups and ignoring the actions of “far-left” groups.
Tyler Laube, 27, pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count of interfering with a federally protected right without bodily injury for his actions at a “Make America Great Again” march at Bolsa Chica State Beach on March 25, 2017 that turned into a 30-minute violent brawl. An OC Weekly reporter, as well as two photographers, later described being physically assaulted by pro-Trump demonstrators at the rally.
At the time, Laube was alleged by prosecutors to be a member of the Rise Above Movement, a Southern California-based militant, combat ready, racist right-wing group that traveled to rallies around the country in order to attack counter-protestors. He was initially charged with multiple felonies under the federal anti-riot act.
Rather than a six-month sentence requested by prosecutors, U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney gave Laube credit for 35 days he already served in custody, and did not order him to spend any additional time behind bars.
Carney recently drew headlines for dismissing a criminal case against Robert Rundo, a 33-year-old Huntington Beach man alleged to have founded the Rise Above Movement. Rundo is currently in federal custody while prosecutors appeal Carney’s decision to toss the charges he was facing.
Rundo — who was indicted alongside Laube — is alleged to have recruited and trained others to take part in violence alongside of him at the Huntington Beach march, as well as political rallies in San Bernardino and Berkeley.
Carney in a written sentencing memorandum released during Laube’s hearing on Thursday morning at the federal courthouse in Santa Ana continued to accuse prosecutors of “selective prosecution,” arguing they ignored similar violence carried out by extremist Antifa members at the other end of the ideological spectrum at the same rallies.
Carney in his memo described Antifa members “detonating fireworks, carrying improvised explosives, using pepper spray, throwing objects, pouring water on an elderly disabled veteran in a wheelchair when surrounded by a larger group of members of Antifa, and more” in order to “shut down political speech with which they disagreed.”
Prosecutors in their sentencing brief wrote that 10 days before the Huntington Beach march, Laube attended a “combat training” event in San Clemente. During the march, prosecutors wrote, Laube punched the journalist several times before a counter-protestor used pepper spray to momentarily disperse the crowd.
“Defendant’s conduct — intentionally committing an act of violence at a political rally — was something he trained for and willfully engaged in,” prosecutors wrote. “And defendant’s conduct was less excusable given that he committed it against a journalist documenting the free expression of ideas.”
The judge, in his own sentencing memo, noted that Laube described being assaulted by Antifa members prior to punching the journalist.
Laube contended that in the midst of the march, multiple Antifa members slapped him, followed by a cameraman stepping on and breaking a rallygoer’s American flag, leading someone else to start a fight. The journalist “stepped in to assist the cameraman,” according to the judge.
“From Mr. Laube’s perspective, the journalist was dressed like a member of Antifa and was assisting somebody who had harassed a supporter of President Trump, which, wrongfully, led Mr. Laube to punch the journalist,” Carney wrote. “As the rally organizer pushed Mr. Laube away from the journalist, the Antifa member who had slapped Mr. Laube twice proceeded to pepper spray Mr. Laube and other Trump supporters in the area.”
According to an OC Weekly article published a day after the march, one of their photographers had taken the American flag away from a Trump supporter after she used it to swat at another media photographer. In the ensuing fight, OC Weekly intern Frank John Tristan was punched in the head and the face, according to the Weekly article. The journalist is not named in the court filings, but is referenced at times by the initials “F.T.”
During Laube’s sentencing hearing, his attorney acknowledged that Laube, at the age of 19, served as a getaway driver while an armed accomplice robbed a 7-Eleven store. But the defense attorney also described a difficult childhood in which Laube’s father served time in prison while his mother struggled with addiction and relationships with abusive men.
Laube is now three years sober, after seeking treatment for heroin and alcohol addiction, his attorney said, and he has had no contact with the members of the Rise Above Movement since before his indictment.
“My younger years I was troubled, looking for guidance, to be a part of something,” Laube told the judge. “I definitely am a changed man.”
In his sentencing memo, Carney wrote, “No doubt, the government and others will object to the court’s sentence, focusing entirely on Mr. Laube’s past white supremacist beliefs and ignoring the violent conduct of Antifa and similar groups …
“The Constitution and the laws of the United States apply to everyone,” the judge added. “We must never forget that if the political winds change in this country, and the new government decides to turn on those not sharing the new government’s views, it will be the rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and the laws of the United States that will protect us.”
Related Articles
San Pedro man gets 30-year sentence in child pornography case
Prosecutors want 10-year sentence for school shooter’s parents
Conservative federal judge condemns ‘normalization’ of Jan. 6 while sentencing defiant rioter
3 Mexican nationals arrested in El Monte last year plead guilty in fentanyl pill scheme
‘Real Housewife’ Shannon Beador sued by ex-boyfriend over alleged $75K loan for facelift