On Jan. 6, 2021, just hours before the U.S. Capitol was violently occupied, Trump urged thousands of his supporters to fight. Fast forward a year, U.S. authorities are still prosecuting the alleged mob: more than 700 people have been arrested for the incident, democrats often describe the incident as a rebellion aimed at violently preventing U.S. President Joe Biden from winning an election; Trump was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives for "inciting" riots, but last month, the former president remained blind and refuted any criticism of his role in the attack... While Trump appears to have escaped the legal consequences of the Capitol riots so far, many of his supporters have not; federal authorities have made multiple charges against riot suspects, and what happened to those who became the face of the classic picture on Jan. 6?
1. Jacob Chasly, "The QAnon Shaman"
With a pointed beard, a painted American flag on his face, a leather hat with horns, a naked upper body and a large number of tattoos, he called himself a "QAnon shaman" and quickly became popular on the Internet after the riots. Photographs of Jacob Chansley standing inside the Capitol, shouting, quickly became synonymous with the events of the day.
Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, Chasle was arrested Jan. 9 and initially faces six charges. He is accused of climbing onto the Senate podium as Congress tried to confirm the election results, taking the place that Vice President Mike Pence had occupied an hour earlier.
In February, he issued a statement through his lawyer apologizing for his actions during the unrest and expressing disappointment that Trump had failed to pardon him and other Jan. 6 suspects before leaving office, "I'm sorry, I caused fear to others, it was wrong." ”
In an agreement with prosecutors, Mr. Chuasley eventually admitted to blocking an official lawsuit, while other charges were dropped. Last November, he was sentenced to 41 months in prison. Citing a "mental health condition" diagnosed in 2006 and 2021, his defense attorney portrayed his client as a vulnerable person, accusing Trump of "inciting the riots through his actions and words."
2. Kevin Severde, who waved the Confederate flag inside the Capitol
Kevin Westfried of Laurel, Delaware, who held the Confederate battle flag inside the U.S. Capitol, immediately became one of the faces recognized during the Jan. 6 riots. The use of the flag by southern states that broke away from the United States in 1861 to maintain slavery sparked a bloody four-year civil war. It is seen as a symbol of hatred and racism, but supporters of the flag say it represents Southern tradition.
On January 14, Kevin Seafrid was detained along with his son Hunter. In April, a joint federal indictment against the two was made public. Kevin Seafrid faces five charges related to illegal entry into Congress, the most serious of which — corruption obstructs, influences and obstructs official processes — with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Hunter was charged with eight counts, including "physical violence inside the U.S. Capitol and any Capitol."
Kevin Seafrid has been released on bail and he pleaded not guilty in May. According to Reuters, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., scheduled his trial in June 2022, according to Reuters.
3. Richard Barnett, who breaks into Nancy Pelosi's office
Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, is the most powerful member of the U.S. congress; she is the third-in-line heir to the U.S. presidency, and without her support, almost no one can get a vote in the lower house of Congress. On Jan. 6, 2021, Trump supporter Richard Barnett (pseudonym "Bigo") was photographed putting her feet on her desk, a photo capturing the chaos of the unrest. He later said in a viral video outside the Capitol, "I put 25 cents on her desk, even though she didn't deserve it at all," "I left a note on her desk that said ' Nancy, Bigo came, you bastard,' and the video was cited in a legal case against him.
In the video, Barnett also holds up an envelope that he says he took from Pelosi's office. He was arrested two days after the riots and detained for more than three months before trial. Prosecutors have accused him of carrying an stun gun into the Capitol, saying he posed a threat to the community.
They wrote in a court filing in January 2021 that "the defendant entered the office of House Speaker Pelosi, posed there for a photo, and then took away her email, allegedly leaving her a disturbing note and telling the media about it." The defendant then acted quickly before his arrest and removed a large number of his guns and electric shock devices from his residence, which supported his inference that he intended to retain control of those weapons. ”
Richard Barnett
A federal judge agreed with them in a Jan. 28 ruling, saying Richard Barnett came to Washington, D.C., "from his home in northwestern Arkansas, on a critical day provided for in the Constitution, armed with weapons and cloaked in rights."
Barnett faces 7 federal charges, including carrying a lethal or dangerous weapon into and staying in a restricted building or premises, which would face up to 10 years in prison if there is no reasonable suspicion. He refused to plead guilty and the trial date has not yet been set. Since his release, Richard Barnett has been outspoken in his criticism of his conditions of detention in the first half of 2021. In November, Barnett told a local Arkansas news agency, "As for apologizing or regretting ... No comment, you can almost guess how I feel, but I can't comment on that. ”