‘I Would Do It Over Again’: Judge Resigns Amid Probe Into His Attendance At January 6 Rally – Above the Law

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]

---

Staci
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.