January 7 Trial Update and Detailed Results

The majority of Congress has voted to approve the trial conducted on January 7, 2026 II. As such, DEMOCRACY! News is authorized to reveal the results thereof.

The first defendant was Auden Watts, the UFA’s Secretary of State and founder, who was charged with high treason and sedition as well as aiding and abetting by prosecutor Joseph Zientara, who currently serves as the Commissioner of the Peace and Vice President.

Watts on trial

The charge of aiding and abetting was related to Watts’s proliferation of apple permits. Watts argued that he was acting in accordance with his position as the de facto leader of the Bureau of Trade and Commerce, and the prosecution agreed to drop the charges. The charge of treason and high sedition was related to the mysterious “shadow government” message sent to President Aiden Jacob recently, but the prosecution provided no evidence that Watts was involved in the shadow government. Presiding judge Galileo Townsend ruled that Watts was innocent.

In the second trial, notorious criminal Gabe Shelly was charged with treason and high sedition (for his role in leading the Nico Party) and twelve counts of grand larceny and theft of state assets. Gabe did not attempt to defend himself and instead admitted to committing these offences. Judge Townsend found him guilty and sentenced him to a fine of 1,650 tokens and 1 weekend of community service.

The third trial was of a citizen who will remain anonymous for the purposes of this article. He was charged with voter fraud during the 2026 Q1 election, but no conclusive evidence was given and the court determined that he would not have been able to defraud the election. Judge Townsend found him innocent. He stated that he would issue Auden Watts a warning for requesting a warrant for the case to begin with, but after determining that Watts had acted under reasonable suspicion, he rescinded the warning.

The first-ever court case and trial (or trials, as there were three of them) has taken place. Now that the complete results of the trial have been released, Americonians are left to wonder what the long-term impact of this trial will be. From a cultural and political perspective, Gabe Shelly finally receiving punishment for his crimes will indubitably play a significant role in the national zeitgeist. From a legal perspective, it is more complicated. Analysts of the future will have many thoughts on this trial and how it was conducted. 

One thing is for certain, however. Thanks to this trial, government officials and insurgents alike know that they can no longer expect to commit crimes with impunity. Joseph Zientara's bold warrant against Auden Watts, while a frivolous case, acted as a wake-up call for the nation, essentially saying to anyone in positions of power: "If you violate our laws, you will be prosecuted and taken to trial". For that, we can also thank the Office of Enforcing Peace, a new department established by President Aiden Jacob.