An upstate New York judge has resigned from his judicial positions following a probe into his presence at Donald Trump’s January 6, 2021, event in Washington, D.C.
According to filings from the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, Judge Donald R. Spaccio, a village and town court judge in Montour Falls, Schuyler County, resigned earlier in September.
The commission informed Judge Spaccio in April that it was investigating complaints about his behavior, which included attending the Jan. 6 rally, yelling at law enforcement when they asked him to remove a propane cannon from his property, and yelling profanities at a town code enforcement officer during a dispute.
Spaccio told the New York Law Journal that he attended Trump’s speech because he believed there were many things wrong with the country.
According to the agreement reached between Spaccio and the commission, he will relinquish his judicial positions and is forbidden from holding any judicial office in the future.
Administrator Robert H. Tembeckjian stated that attending the January 6 event was “impermissible.”
“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,” according to Tembeckjian.
“Whether or not a judge was a candidate, attending the rally in Washington on January 6, 2021, was impermissible.”
Spaccio attended the “Save America” rally in Washington, D.C., when then-President Trump announced that he would “never concede” the election, urged Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the results, and warned his supporters, “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”
The committee remained silent on Spaccio’s involvement in the violent Capitol storming that followed Trump’s speech and resulted in more than 1,400 people facing charges.
The former president has continued to allege, without evidence, that the election was “rigged” by widespread voter fraud but has denied inciting the violence that occurred.
Spaccio had served as a justice on the Montour Falls Village Court since 2001, and he joined the Montour Town Court in 2005.
His current tenure was slated to end in March 2026 for the village court and December 2025 for the town court. Instead of disputing the claims, Spaccio resigned, telling the New York Law Journal that he did not want to incur the costs of a legal defense.
In his resignation letter, Spaccio expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve the community.
The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct accepted his resignation and declared that the matter would be resolved in accordance with the terms of the stipulation, subject to revival if Spaccio violated the agreement.
