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'I Would Do It Over Again': Judge Resigns Amid Probe Into His Attendance At January 6 Rally

'Yeah, I went to Trump's rally,' the judge said -- and he has no regrets about doing so.

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As a judge, you likely know that it’s not a good idea to attend an insurrection. But what about a political rally that served as a precursor to an insurrection? One recently retired New York judge did just that, and he seems to have absolutely no regrets about doing so.

Donald Spaccio, a non-attorney judge in central New York, was facing an investigation into his attendance at former president Donald Trump’s political rally that foreshadowed the January 6, 2021, coup attempt at the U.S. Capitol, when he suddenly resigned from his position. Per the New York Law Journal, the former Montour Falls Village Court Justice and Montour Town Court Justice, who clarifies that he did not participate in the insurrection, had this to say:

Also the longtime owner of a printing press business, Spaccio told the Law Journal: “Yeah, I went to Trump’s rally. There’s a lot of things that are wrong with our country right now, so that’s why I felt I needed to be there.”

Spaccio, who represented himself in the state investigation, added that he doesn’t regret his actions.

“I would do it over again. We lose our rights when we go on the bench, and it’s not right,” he said.

Spaccio has served as the Montour Falls justice since November 2001, and as the Montour Town justice since January 2005. According to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, he has agreed never to seek or accept judicial office again in the future.

Central NY Judge Who Resigned Amid Scrutiny for Attending Jan. 6 Capitol Rally Says He’d Do It Again [New York Law Journal]

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Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on X/Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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