A Mountain View resident was sentenced this week to seven days of incarceration for illegally entering the U.S. Capitol at the Jan. 6, 2021 rally in support of former President Trump.
Shawn Bradley Witzemann was arrested in April 2021 and charged with knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds as well as disorderly and disruptive conduct.
“I’m ready to serve,” Witzemann told the St. Louis Record.
In addition to incarceration for seven days, U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia Thomas F. Hogan ordered that Witzemann serve two years probation, 60 hours of community service and pay a $500 restitution fee.
“After going through the building and finally being forced out essentially by the police, you went back to your hotel room and then said Trump should invoke the Insurrection Act and take over the country by force and the army,” Hogan said. “That comes close to sedition.”
As previously reported in the St. Louis Record, Witzemann followed a crowd of protestors into the U.S. Capitol at the rally that was staged in support of former President Trump. A week after the Jan. 6 rally, he was interviewed by the FBI and subsequently charged.
“I'm not going to spend a lot of time talking about your association with the Proud Boys,” Hogan said. “You knew some of them. You knew the leaders. You filmed them. You indicated support by publishing attendance on your webpage, but I don't see any evidence of you being part of that group."
Department of Justice charging documents obtained by the St. Louis Record accuse Witzemann of attempting to climb up the scaffolding to get a better view of the crowd with his cell phone camera.
The prosecution had asked for two weeks of incarceration, arguing that Witzemann had been an active participant in the riot, not a journalist.
“Although he didn't assault or disobey any police officer orders, he did attempt to persuade one of the officers to either let them through or to join their cause by saying, ‘Stand with us,’” said U.S. Assistant Attorney Christopher Amore. "In the weeks and months following January 6th, he continued to take to the Internet to express his support for the actions of the rioters, and show lack of remorse for his own actions that day.”
More than 880 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states in connection with the Jan. 6 rally, according to Department of Justice data.
"I'm ordering a seven-day term of imprisonment as a condition of probation to be served at one time without interruption," Hogan added. "That'll be in a local institution near your area where you live and that'll be performed in accordance with the Bureau of Prisons. I'm transferring the supervision of this case to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri where you live so you don't have to worry about coming back here and reporting."