Some of the January 6 defendants, who face prison time and dire personal consequences for storming the US Capitol, are trying to cash in on their involvement in the deadly riots, using it as a platform to raise money, promote business initiatives and improve social media profiles.
A Nevada man jailed on riot charges asked his mother to contact the publishers of a book he was writing about “the Capitol incident.” A Washington state rioter helped his father sell clothing and other merchandise with slogans like “Our House” and pictures of the Capitol building. A Virginia man released a rap album with riot-themed songs and a cover photograph of him sitting in a police vehicle in front of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Those actions sometimes complicate matters for defendants when they face judges at sentencing, as prosecutors single out lucrative activities for harsher punishments. The Justice Department, in some cases, is trying to recover money that rioters have made from the insurrection.
In one case, federal authorities seized tens of thousands of dollars from a defendant who sold his Jan. 6 footage. In another case, a Florida man’s plea deal allows the US government to collect profits from any books he publishes in the next five years. And prosecutors want a Maine man who raised more than $20,000 from his supporters to hand over some of the money because he is represented by a taxpayer-funded public defender.
Many troublemakers have paid a high personal price for their actions on January 6. At sentencing, rioters often ask for leniency on the grounds that they have already experienced serious consequences for their crimes.
They lost jobs or entire careers. Marriages fell apart. Friends and family avoided them or even reported them to the FBI. Strangers have sent them hateful messages and threats online. And they have racked up expensive legal bills to defend themselves against federal charges ranging from misdemeanors to felonies.
Websites and crowdfunding platforms created to raise donations for those accused of rioting on Capitol Hill attempt to portray them as battered patriots or even political prisoners.
An anti-vaccine doctor who pleaded guilty to trespassing on Capitol Hill founded a nonprofit organization that raised more than $430,000 for her legal expenses. The fundraising appeal from Dr. Simone Gold’s group, America’s Frontline Doctors, did not mention her guilty plea, prosecutors said.
Before sentencing Gold to two months behind bars, US District Judge Christopher Cooper called it “unseemly” that his nonprofit organization invoked the Capitol riots to raise money that would also pay his salary. Prosecutors said in court papers that “it’s unbelievable” that she incurred nearly $430,000 in legal costs for her misdemeanor case.
Another troublemaker, a New Jersey gym owner who punched a police officer during the siege, raised more than $30,000 in online donations for a “Patriot Relief Fund” to cover his mortgage payments and other monthly bills. . Prosecutors cited the fund in recommending a fine for Scott Fairlamb, who is serving a prison sentence of more than three years.
“Fairlamb should not be able to ‘capitalize’ on his involvement in the Capitol breach in this way,” Justice Department attorneys wrote.
Robert Palmer, a Florida man who attacked cops on Capitol Hill, asked a friend to create a crowdfunding campaign for him online after he pleaded guilty. After seeing the “Help Patriot Rob” campaign, a probation officer who calculated a sentencing recommendation for Palmer did not give him credit for accepting responsibility for his conduct. Palmer admitted that a post for the campaign falsely portrayed his behavior on Jan. 6. Accepting liability can help shave months or even years off a sentence.
“When you threw the fire extinguisher and board at the policemen, were you acting in self-defense?” US District Judge Tanya Chutkan asked.
“No ma’am, I wasn’t,” Palmer said before the judge sentenced him to more than five years in prison.
A group calling itself the Patriot Freedom Project says it has raised more than $1 million in contributions and paid out more than $665,000 in grants and legal fees for families of those accused of rioting on Capitol Hill.
In April, a New Jersey-based foundation associated with the group filed a tax-exempt application with the IRS. As of early August, an IRS database does not list the foundation as a tax-exempt organization. The Hughes Foundation’s IRS application says its funds will “primarily” benefit the families of the defendants on Jan. 6, with about 60 percent of the money donated going to foundation activities. The rest will cover administration and fundraising expenses, including salaries, it adds.
Protesters have found other ways to enrich themselves or promote themselves.
Jeremy Grace, who was sentenced to three weeks in prison for breaking into the Capitol, tried to profit from his involvement by helping his father sell T-shirts, baseball caps, water bottles, stickers and other items with phrases like “Our House” and “Back the Blue” and footage of the Capitol, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Grace’s “boldness” in selling “Back the Blue” paraphernalia is “especially disturbing” because she saw other rioters confront police officers on Jan. 6. However, a defense attorney said Grace did not break any laws and did not make a profit. she helping her father to sell the merchandise.
Federal authorities have seized more than $62,000 from a bank account belonging to riot defendant John Earle Sullivan, a Utah man who made more than $90,000 selling his Jan. 6 video to at least six companies. Sullivan’s attorney argued that authorities had no right to seize the money.
An Arkansas man pictured propping his feet up on a desk in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Richard “Bigo” Barnett, an Arkansas man pictured propping his feet up on a desk in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has charged donors $100 for photos of him with his feet on a desk while under house arrest. Defense attorney Joseph McBride said prosecutors have “zero reason” to prevent Barnett from raising defense money from him before his December trial date.
“Unlike the government, Mr. Barnett does not have the American taxpayer footing the bill for his legal case,” McBride wrote in a court filing.
Texas real estate agent Jennifer Leigh Ryan promoted her business on social media during and after the riots, boasting that she was “getting famous.” In messages sent after Jan. 6, Ryan “contemplated the business she needed to prepare for as a result of the publicity she received by joining the mob on Capitol Hill,” prosecutors said in court documents.
Prosecutors cited the social media activity of Treniss Evans III in recommending a two-month prison term for the Texas man, who had a shot of whiskey in a congressional conference room on Jan. 6. Evans has “aggressively exploited” his presence on Capitol Hill. to expand the social media following of him on Gettr, a social networking site founded by a former Trump adviser, prosecutors wrote ahead of Evans’ sentencing, scheduled for next Tuesday,
Some rioters are writing books about the mob attack or have marketed videos they shot during the riots.
A unique provision in Adam Johnson’s plea deal allows the US government to profit from any book it publishes for the next five years. Images of Johnson posing for pictures with Pelosi’s podium went viral after the riots. Prosecutors said they insisted on the provision after learning that Johnson intends to write a memoir “of some kind.”
Ronald Sandlin, a Nevada man accused of assaulting officers near the Senate gallery doors, posted on Facebook that he was “negotiating a deal with Netflix” to sell video footage of riots. Later, in a call from jail, Sandlin told his mother that he had met with right-wing author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza and that he was in contact with podcaster Joe Rogan. He also asked his mother to contact the publishers of the book he was writing about the “Capitol incident,” prosecutors said.
“I hope to make it into a movie,” Sandlin wrote in a March 2021 text message. “I plan on having Leonardo DiCaprio play me,” he wrote, adding a smiley face emoji.