Over 725 individuals were arrested after storming the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021. The charges range from obstruction of an officially proceeding to assault. A significant number of protesters still await their sentences at the one year anniversary of the attempted rebellion.
Only around one-tenth of those arrested—71 individuals—have received criminal sentences, while the rest are waiting for their trials or haven’t yet reached plea agreements. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, 31 defendants were sentenced to periods of incarceration, with longer prison terms for those who engaged in violence or threats. The Jan. 6th rioters received a median sentence of 45 days in prison. Additional 18 rioters were sentenced to home detention.Most sentences include fines, community work, and probation for lower-level offences like illegally parading in or demonstrating at the Capitol. This is a misdemeanor.
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Learn More Justice Still Comes for Jan. 6 Rioters
Many more cases will be decided in the next months. There are also a few sentencing hearings scheduled for 2022.
Here’s a look at what happened to nine of the most high-profile Jan. 6 rioters.
Robert Scott Palmer: He spent 63 months behind bars
The Florida man who hurled wooden boards and a fire extinguisher at police officers guarding the Lower West Terrace tunnel of the Capitol was sentenced to more than five years in federal prison—the longest sentence given to anyone charged in the Jan. 6 riot.
“Defendant’s repeated violent assaults on law enforcement for the purpose of overturning a democratic election warrant a significant term of imprisonment,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Juman wrote in the sentencing memo Dec. 10.
At his sentencing in October, Palmer was 54 years old and pleaded guilty to attacking law enforcement officers using a dangerous weapon. Original plea agreement called for 46-57 months sentence. However, he pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement officers with a dangerous weapon in October.
Devlyn Thompson is currently in 46-months of prison
Thompson participated in the rioting nearly for three hours Jan. 6. During which time, he attacked a police officer using a metal baton. Thompson also attempted to throw a speaker at police officers but failed and wound another rioter.
Thompson later pleaded guilty for assault with dangerous weapons. Federal District Court Judge Royce Lamberth sent Thompson, 28, to 46 months imprisonment with credit for time served and 36 months of supervised released. He also required a $2,000 restitution payment.
“You didn’t just come up and sock a guy in the face,” Lamberth said at the sentencing. “You’re shoving and pushing…and participating in this riot for hours.” Thompson apologized to the officer he hit with the baton in a letter filed in court.
Jacob Anthony Chansley: 41 Months in Prison
Chansley—a self-described shaman and a follower of the QAnon conspiracy theory—is one of the most recognizable Jan. 6 rioters, thanks to viral photographs of his outlandish getup.
According to court documents, Chansley confessed to federal agents that he was the man photographed in former Vice President Mike Pence’s chair on the Senate dais with his face painted, wearing a horned headdress and no shirt. Although his imposing appearance became the symbol for the attack on Jan. 6, Chansley later regretted storming the Capitol.
“What you did was terrible. You made yourself the epitome of the riot,” Lamberth said Nov. 17. “You didn’t slug anybody, but what you did here was actually obstruct the functioning of the whole government. It’s a serious crime.”
Chansley was 34 years old at the time of his sentencing. He pleaded guilty one count: Obstructing an Official Proceeding. Chansley was sentenced for 41 months.
Scott Kevin Fairlamb is currently in 41-months detention
Videos from the Capitol riot show Fairlamb climbing on inauguration scaffolding, pushing a police officer into a group of people and punching the officer’s face shield. According to court filings, Fairlamb also briefly entered Capitol.
One video was posted by him to Facebook On Jan. 6,, Fairlamb yells: “What patriots do? We f—n’ disarm them and then we storm the f—n’ Capitol.”
Fairlamb (44 years) pleaded guilty August to assaulting an Officer and hindering an Official Proceeding of Congress. Fairlamb was sentenced to 41 month imprisonment with credit for the time served and to $2,000 for restitution for damage to the building.
Cleveland Meredith Jr. – 28 months imprisonment
Meredith traveled from Colorado to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally This led to an attempt at insurrection at CapitolHe later admitted to investigators that his arrival was too late. He sent an anonymous text message on January 7 to his family in Georgia, in which he threatened Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker of Georgia. Meredith’s mother contacted the FBI, and members located him at a Holiday Inn a mile from the Capitol.
Meredith consented to investigators searching his mobile phone as well his trailer and truck outside. FBI found texts that Meredith threatened to kill Pelosi. District of ColumbiaMuriel Bowser, Mayor. He had sent a text earlier that day that said, “Calm before the STORM,” seemingly referring to a cataclysmic event in which QAnon followers believed that Donald Trump would expose a cabal of satanic pedophiles.The search for Meredith’s trailer, the FBIFound an assault rifle and a 9 millimeter pistol, as well as hundreds of rounds ammunition.
Meredith was 53 years old at the time of his sentencing. He pleaded guilty for communicating a threat over state borders. He was sentenced to 28 months imprisonment with credit for his time served in December.
Gracyn Dawn Courtright: 1 month in prison
While she was inside the Capitol, Courtright, then age 23 and a senior at the University of Kentucky, took a photo of herself in a mirror and afterward posted it to Instagram, along with the words, “INFAMY IS JUST AS GOOD AS FAME.” She shared her participation in the riot on Instagram multiple times, and someone took a screenshot and reported her.
Footage from Jan. 6 shows Courtright on the second floor of the Capitol building, holding up a “Members Only” sign. She was taken into custody by police two weeks later.
Courtright admitted to entering restricted buildings in August. Other charges were dropped against her. Her sentence was one month in prison. Additionally, her sentence includes a year’s supervised release. She must also complete 60 hours of community work and be responsible for $500 compensation for damage to the Capitol.
Courtright resigned from college after her arrest.
Richard Barnett: Waiting for sentencing
Barnett was photographed in his desk chair with one foot. Pelosi’s Office during the violence at Capitol
After spending almost four months in prison on charges such as obstructing a proceeding, entering Capitol with a deadly weapon (a stungun), and theft from government property (for the theft of a piece government mail), he was freed in April.
Barnett, aged 61, could be sentenced to up to 87 month imprisonment if found guilty of all charges.
Matthew Greene: Awaiting sentencing
Greene is the first self-identified member of the Proud Boys—a far-right extremist group—to plead guilty to obstructing Congress and conspiring to obstruct law enforcement during the Capitol attack.
Court documents indicate Greene, age 34 at the time of his plea, was “among the first wave” to rush up the Capitol steps after the police line was breached. Greene could face up to 25 years imprisonment, but prosecutors will recommend that he be sentenced to 41-to-50 months for his cooperation with law enforcement. The hearing for him is set for March 10.
Robert Chapman: Awaiting sentencing
Chapman revealed to someone using the dating app Bumble that Chapman took part in the Jan. 6 riot a week later. “I did storm the capitol,” he wrote in a message. “I made it all the way to Statuary Hall!” The person Chapman confessed to then replied, “We are not a match.”
Chapman contacted Chapman on Bumble the following day.Contacted the FBI. Federal investigators matched Chapman’s Bumble profile to images of him inside the Capitol building. He was identified by New York State police who matched his appearance to a 2017 photo of him, which showed the same sideburns.
Chapman (51 years of age) pleaded guilty to the charges in December. “parading, demonstrating or picketing” iA Capitol Building. He will be sentenced April 4th, with a minimum of six months imprisonment and a maximum penalty of $5,000.
