A federal judge on Thursday said the United States was in trouble if Americans dont accept the results of legitimate elections, as was the case with Donald Trump and many of his supporters following the 2020 election.

Separately, U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton said he was sure there wont be an acceptance of a defeat if Trump loses again in 2024.

Speaking during a sentencing hearing for a Capitol attack defendant whod previously pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer and civil disorder, Walton also said that unlike Trump, former Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore was a man about it when he conceded the contested 2000 election.

Gore, then the incumbent vice president, conceded the 2000 election to George W. Bush after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Bush camps favor, ending a recount of the vote in Florida.

Walton sentenced Jacob Zerkle, an Arizona pistachio farmer, to 24 months in prison for the two felonies to which Zerkle previously agreed to plead guilty: assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, as well as civil disorder. Zerkle and prosecutors reached a plea agreement in October. In addition to the prison time, Zerkle will pay a $2,000 restitution to the architect of the Capitol and serve supervised release and community service following his imprisonment.

Zerkle shoved police officers, called them traitors, and separately chanted hang em high! during Trump supporters attack on the Capitol. He was not accused of entering the building, but assistant U.S. attorney Joseph Hutton Marshall referred to him as a consequential member of the mob in court Thursday, disputing the defenses argument that Zerkle came into contact with police during an attempt to aid his brother, who was not charged, though he was in the crowd with Zerkle.

Addressing the court, Zerkle apologized for his language and actions on Jan. 6. Pressed by Walton on the reasons for his actions, Zerkle said I guess you had to be there. Jan. 6 was the first protest hed ever attended, he said, adding that he found himself repeating the chants he heard in the crowd around him and that he got caught up in the moment. He called his actions a horrible mistake.

I dont think Im very good at protesting, he said.

Before delivering his sentence, Walton said the crowds actions on Jan. 6 caused significant harm to this country and specifically to law enforcement. He noted the multiple suicides of police officers responding to the riot and speculated that Zerkles words may have riled up the people around him. He referred to his sentence as a deterrent, saying it was difficult ... for me to impose.

We cannot exist as a peaceful society, Walton said, if people reject the results of elections because the vote didnt go the way they wanted it to go.