Judge slams Trump as 'charlatan' after jury finds Jan. 6 rioter guilty on all counts

"We have charlatans like our former president, who doesn't in my view really care about democracy, but only about power."

A federal judge in D.C. on Thursday delivered a scathing rebuke of former President Donald Trump and expressed dismay over the state of American politics just moments after a jury found a defendant charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot guilty on all charges.

"You know, I think our democracy is in trouble," Judge Reggie Walton said at the conclusion of the third jury trial for a defendant charged in the Capitol assault. "Because unfortunately, we have charlatans like our former president, who doesn't in my view really care about democracy, but only about power. And as a result of that, it's tearing this country apart."

Walton, an appointee of former President George W. Bush and one of the most senior judges on the D.C. court, said that he's received letters from people around the country expressing concern the justice system isn't confronting Jan. 6 -- which he called an "insurgency," with the seriousness it deserves.

"I have a concern that we have, unfortunately, American citizens who were so gullible that they were willing to accept what was being said without any proof that the allegations about the election had any merit whatsoever," Walton said. "People are just outraged at how they feel our system is not taking seriously what happened on that day because of their fear of the future of this country."