Judge warns of threat to democracy and lawlessness in one of the final Jan. 6 sentencing hearings before Election Day

A federal judge in Washington warned of the risk of "autocracy" and the rise of lawlessness in America, as she sentenced a convicted U.S. Capitol riot defendant to eight months in prison.  

In lengthy and at times blistering remarks during the Thursday sentencing hearing of a former U.S. Marine, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly warned of parallels between Jan. 6, 2021, and the election that preceded the U.S. Civil War.

Kollar-Kotelly's remarks five days before the end of this year's heated midterm election campaigns included references to the risk of the dissolution of democracy in America.