Judge Donald R. Spaccio handed in his resignation after an investigation into his attendance at President Donald Trump‘s rally on January 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Here is what we know about him.
Spaccio, a justice of the Montour Falls Village Court and the Montour Town Court, in Schuyler County, made news last Friday, when it came out that he had resigned on September 9.
His resignation came amid the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct investigating several complaints against him, including his January 6 rally attendance.
Trump supporters stand on a U.S. Capitol Police armored vehicle as others take over the steps of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. A judge has resigned while being investigated for attended President Donald Trump’s January 6 rally in Washington, D.C.
AP
“Judges may not engage in political activity except for a limited time when running for office, and even then there are constraints on what they may do,” Commission Administrator Robert H. Tembeckjian said.
“Whether or not a judge was a candidate, attending the rally in Washington on January 6, 2021, was impermissible.”
Spaccio has testified that he did not take part in the riot and argued that his attendance at the rally was during a “window period” in which he would have been allowed to participate in political activities, according to the New York 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 told the Journal last week.
“I would do it over again. We lose our rights when we go on the bench, and it’s not right.”
Spaccio, who is not an attorney, has been a justice of the Montour Falls Village Court since 2001 and a justice in the Montour Town Court since 2005. His terms were to expire in March 2026 and December 2025, respectively, the Journal reported.
The courts deal with issues such as speeding tickets, driving while intoxicated, small claims, landlord-tenant proceedings and misdemeanors, according to the Commission on Judicial Conduct’s description.
Judges at these courts can also preside over the arraignment of defendants charged with most felonies, set bail and issue or deny orders of protection.
A profile on X, formerly Twitter, that appears to be Spaccio’s based on his profile photo and his location, shows him following multiple members of the Trump family. In 2019, he reposted a Trump tweet that said: “I greatly appreciate Nancy Pelosi‘s statement against impeachment, but everyone must remember the minor fact that I never did anything wrong, the Economy and Unemployment are the best ever, Military and Vets are great – and many other successes! How do you impeach….”
Spaccio is also the owner of a printing press business, according to the Journal, in Montour Falls, according to his LinkedIn profile and business data company Dun & Bradstreet. It opened in 1971 and Spaccio seems to be its only employee, according to online business directory Manta.
The judge, who is treasurer of the Montour Falls Fire Department, according to its website, was also being investigated for shouting at law enforcement when officers asked him to remove a propane cannon from his property and yelling profanities at a town code enforcement officer during a dispute.
Discussing the first accusation, he told the Journal he was “shouting at officers he knew” because “[a neighboring business] had a vacuum on his roof that put out as much noise as my bird cannon.”
Spaccio, who represented himself during the investigation, said he chose to resign because he did not want to pay a lawyer to defend him.
Newsweek has contacted Spaccio, via direct message on Facebook and LinkedIn, for comment. It has also contacted Trump’s team via email for comment.
