Many Capitol riot suspects now saying sorry
PHOENIX — Dozens of people arrested in the siege at the U.S. Capitol have apologized and expressed regret as the consequences of their actions sink in. The ramifications include potential job losses, financial ruin and possible time behind bars.
“This is going to have consequences for these people for the rest of their lives — and it should,” said John Flannery, a former federal prosecutor and Capitol Hill lawyer.
A lawyer for Dominic Pezzola, who authorities say is a member of the extremist group Proud Boys and broke a Capitol window with a police shield, said in a filing that his client’s incarceration has placed his wife and two children in desperate financial straits.
Several workers at a floor installation business Pezzola manages also are out of work because Pezzola is jailed, attorney Jonathan Zucker wrote in a February filing seeking Pezzola’s release pending trial.
Pezzola, the attorney wrote, was sorry for his actions, which included posting a video giving a triumphant speech inside the Capitol while smoking a “victory” cigar.
“Since his arrest, having time to reflect and see how things have revealed themselves, he now realizes he was duped into these mistaken beliefs ” that the election was stolen from President Donald Trump, Zucker wrote.
Josiah Colt, the helmet-wearing Idaho man photographed dangling by one hand from the Senate balcony during the Jan. 6 riot, seemed to recognize the long-term consequences of his actions in the Capitol in the minutes before his arrest in a video apologizing and expressing shame for storming the building..
“I never intended to do anything that would bring a black eye to my family, country, me,” he said, adding that he had received death threats.
Among the rude awakenings: No plea deals yet, though they may be in the works. Given it was an attack on what many regard as the citadel of American democracy, the sentiment among prosecutors, judges and the public at large, at least for now, isn’t exactly lenient.
Pezzola’s judge denied his request for bail, citing a potential danger to the community and saying Pezzola’s expressions of regret now can’t outweigh evidence that he “was willing to play an important role in an act of political violence.”
To date, more than 300 Capitol Hill rioters have been charged. Several are accused of careful planning and of coordinating the attack on Jan. 6. Most aren’t accused of committing violence or damaging property but of walking past security lines and entering restricted areas.
In most cases, there’s little dispute those charged did breach the Capitol building, having provided evidence of that themselves in selfies and videos posted online.
Among the most wellknown personalities in the Capitol riot to issue an apology is Jacob Chansley, the socalled QAnon Shaman from Phoenix who stormed the building wearing face paint and a furry hat with horns and carrying a spear. He also had expressed his disappointment with Trump, who had denied his pardon request.
In his apology, Chansley asked for patience for him and others who participated because they were “having a very difficult time piecing together all that happened to us, around us, and by us.”
“We are good people who care deeply about our country,” Chansley wrote.
A month later, a judge who denied Chansley’s bid to be released from jail had questioned whether the Arizona man was still under Trump’s spell, pointing out Chansley said in a CBS “60 Minutes+” interview that he didn’t regret his loyalty to Trump.