Related Research Articles
Oath Keepers is an American far-right anti-government militia whose leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the government of the United States, including the transfer of presidential power as prescribed by the United States constitution. It was incorporated in 2009 by founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes, a lawyer and former paratrooper. In 2023, Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy for his role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, and another Oath Keepers leader, Kelly Meggs, was sentenced to 12 years for the same crime. Three other members have pleaded guilty to this crime, and four other members have been convicted of it.
Seditious conspiracy is a crime in various jurisdictions of conspiring against the authority or legitimacy of the state. As a form of sedition, it has been described as a serious but lesser counterpart to treason, targeting activities that undermine the state without directly attacking it.
On June 18, 2016, at a rally for Donald Trump's 2016 United States presidential campaign in Paradise, Nevada, Michael Steven Sandford, a 20-year-old British citizen, attempted to grab the service pistol of a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officer providing security for the event. Having failed to do so and having been arrested, Sandford claimed that he had wished to kill Trump to prevent him from being elected U.S. president.
Marina Medvin is an American criminal defense attorney located in Alexandria, Virginia.
Henry "Enrique" Tarrio is an American convicted seditionist and far-right activist. From 2018 to 2021, he was the chairman of the Proud Boys, a neo-fascist organization that promotes and engages in political violence in the United States. Along with three other Proud Boys leaders, Tarrio was convicted in May 2023 of seditious conspiracy for his role in the 2021 United States Capitol attack. In September 2023, Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison, before being pardoned by US president Donald Trump following his return to office on January 20, 2025.
Jacob Anthony Angeli Chansley, also known as the QAnon Shaman, Q Shaman, and Yellowstone Wolf, is an American far-right conspiracy theorist who participated in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, for which he was convicted after a guilty plea on charges of obstructing an official proceeding. He is a supporter of Donald Trump and a former believer and disseminator of the QAnon conspiracy theory.
Dominic Pezzola is an American convicted felon and member of the Proud Boys who participated in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, a violent attack at the U.S. Capitol. He is best known for stealing a police riot shield and using it to break a Capitol window on January 6, 2021, making him the first rioter to breach the building. Indicted in 2021, on federal charges, he was tried in 2023 alongside Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and his key lieutenants, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, and Zachary Rehl. In May 2023, following a five-month jury trial, Pezzola was convicted of obstructing a congressional proceeding, assaulting a police officer, and other crimes. He was acquitted of seditious conspiracy, the most serious charge. The jury deadlocked on other charges against Pezzola, including conspiring to obstruct the counting of the electoral votes.
The investigation of the rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol building was the largest criminal probe in U.S. history. Four years after the attack, everyone involved received clemency from President Donald Trump.
Corruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding is a felony under U.S. federal law. It was enacted as part of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 in reaction to the Enron scandal, and closed a legal loophole on who could be charged with evidence tampering by defining the new crime very broadly.
Nicholas Ochs, sometimes Nick Ochs, is an American convicted felon, former U.S. Marine, a 2020 Republican Hawaii House of Representatives candidate, and the founder of the Proud Boys' Hawaii chapter.
Jeremy Bertino is an American former member of the Proud Boys who testified against Enrique Tarrio during his trial for seditious conspiracy for his role in the 2021 United States Capitol attack. Bertino was the first Proud Boys member to plead guilty to the same charge. On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump commuted his sentence to "time served".
Peter Francis Stager is an American truck driver and convicted criminal who attacked a police officer with a flagpole during the January 6 United States Capitol attacks.
Christopher John Worrell is an American convicted felon and former fugitive who took part in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, for which he was serving a 10-year prison sentence.
Adam Christian Johnson, also known as the "Podium Guy" and "Via Getty", is an American who took part in the United States Capitol attack on January 6, 2021. A photograph of Johnson carrying then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's lectern became a prominent image of the attack.
Guy Wesley Reffitt is an American convicted criminal and insurrectionist, who took part in the United States Capitol attack on January 6, 2021. He was a member of the Three Percenters and was the first defendant to be convicted at trial for the attack.
Alan Hostetter is an American convicted felon, anti-lockdown activist and founder of the American Phoenix Project who took part in the United States Capitol attack on January 6, 2021.
Rachel Marie Powell, also known as "Pink Hat Lady" and "Bullhorn Lady", is an American convicted felon known for her participation in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, in which she wore a pink hat and used a bullhorn to instruct and encourage other rioters.
Pamela Hemphill is an American former Trump supporter who took part in the United States Capitol attack on January 6, 2021. She was nicknamed the "MAGA Granny" in reference to Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan by social media users following the attack.
Matthew Lawrence Perna was an American man who took part in the United States Capitol attack on January 6, 2021. Perna, aged 37, committed suicide in February 2022 while awaiting his sentencing on charges of witness tampering, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, and two counts of disorderly conduct.
References
- ↑ "Capitol riot suspect arrested in Las Vegas will stay in jail". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 2021-04-13. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- 1 2 Connolly, Daniel. "'Have mercy on me!' Accused Capitol rioter who had lived in Memphis area ordered detained". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "'I believe Jan. 6 was a national tragedy,' Capitol rioter arrested in Las Vegas sentenced to federal prison". KLAS. 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- ↑ Snodgrass, Erin (December 13, 2021). "A man accused of smoking weed inside the Capitol during the insurrection says 'I know we took it too far'". Business Insider. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- 1 2 Satterfield, Jamie (2022-10-02). "Shelby County man pleads guilty for role in U.S. Capitol insurrection". Tennessee Lookout. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- 1 2 3 "'You're going to die': Jan. 6 rioter who filmed himself assaulting officers pleads guilty". NBC News. October 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- 1 2 "Some Capitol rioters try to profit from their Jan. 6 crimes". www.ny1.com. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- 1 2 "'Legal fees' fundraiser for Jan. 6 rioter arrested in Las Vegas paid for movies, went to other inmates; judge issues fine". KLAS. 2022-12-15. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
- ↑ Mealins, Evan. "More than 30 Jan. 6 Capitol rioters with Tennessee ties pardoned by Trump: Read the cases". The Tennessean . Retrieved 2025-01-22.
- ↑ Lowry, Brian (2023-10-15). "Alexandra Pelosi strains to find common ground with 'The Insurrectionist Next Door'". CNN. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
- ↑ "Millington man pleads guilty in relation to January 6 Capitol riot". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 2022-12-12.