Capitol rioter entered the building only to “sit down and rest” because he had been on his feet for more than 11 hours by the time, sentenced

According to Insider, at least 768 people have been arrested and charged with crimes in connection to the Capitol riots so far and this number is expected to rise since the FBI is working round the clock in identifying and locating other people who stormed the Capitol building during the January 6th events last year.

Since many rioters were allowed to walk free a year ago, it’s taking some time to track them down. That’s the only reason why the number of arrested and charged people so far looks very low compared the number of people who actually stormed the Capitol building and are being seen on videos.

The 40-year-old J. McAuliffe, one of the many who entered the Capitol building during the Jan. 6 events, was recently sentenced to home detention and probation for taking part into the Capitol riot events. According to the prosecutors, McAuliffe entered the Capitol, reached one of the conference rooms where he spent some time before he was told by the authorities to immediately leave the building.

During the court process, McAuliffe said he entered the Capitol only to “sit down and rest” because he had been on his feet for more than 11 hours by the time after attending then-President Donald Trump’s so-called “Stop the Steal” rally. Prosecutors were able to prove that McAuliffe entered the Capitol through the Senate Wing doors about 20 minutes after it had been breached for a second time by the mob of Trump supporters.

Obviously lost when he entered the Capitol, he was walking down the halls until he found an empty conference room where he entered just to take a sit and rest for a while. Meanwhile, more people went inside the same conference room. McAuliffe, a New York certified accountant, left the room and the Capitol along with all the other people when police came inside the conference room and told them to leave.

McAuliffe faced several charges including parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. The then suspect was facing up to six months in jail. In November last year, he pleaded guilty to all of the charges. Last week, McAuliffe was sentenced to three years of probation, including two months of home detention.

Senior U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth decided for ‘light’ sentence because he took into consideration the fact that McAuliffe was neither violent nor destructive that day which was not the case with many other rioters who are already sentenced to jail.

“We have no evidence that Mr. McAuliffe did anything other than sit down and rest in this room,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Strain said. “He took videos and pictures on his phone. When police eventually came in and asked everybody to leave, he complied and left the building.”

Although the prosecutors were aware of the whole situation, they requested a sentence of 14 days’ incarceration, three years of probation and $500 in restitution. McAuliffe requested probation only.

When asking only for probation, McAuliffe attorney said his client already paid the price for his involvement in the Capitol events citing that his ‘client lost his license as certified public accountant, his business is now gone and he barely saved his marriage. In addition to everything, McAuliffe earlier said that he is also barred from using Airbnb and Lyft services.

Cindy Carey

Publisher

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