Judges, witnesses, prosecutors increasingly warn of threats to democracy in 2024 elections as Jan. 6 prosecutions continue

In early March, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly looked at 23-year-old Clifford Mackrell, a Jan. 6 defendant from Ohio, and as she sentenced him to 27 months in prison for his role in the 2021 U.S. Capitol attack, she read a statement warning about the fragility of democracy.

"We have an election coming," Kollar-Kotelly said. "Unless democracy is protected, it will be destroyed."

Kollar-Kotelly didn't raise her voice, but her words echoed off the floor-to-ceiling wooden walls in her courtroom.