Rioters try to make a quick buck off their Jan. 6 involvement
Facing prison time and dire personal consequences for storming the U. S. Capitol, some Jan. 6 defendants are trying to profit from their participation in the riot, using it as a platform to drum up cash, promote business endeavors and boost social media profiles.
A man jailed on riot charges asked his mother to contact publishers for a book he was writing about “the Capitol incident.” A rioter helped his father hawk merchandise bearing slogans such as “Our House” and images of the Capitol building. A Virginia man released a rap album with riotthemed songs.
Those actions can complicate matters for defendants when they face judges at sentencing, as prosecutors point to the profitchasing activities in seeking tougher punishments. The Justice Department, in some instances, is trying to claw back money that rioters have made off the insurrection.
In one case, federal authorities have seized tens of thousands of dollars from a defendant who sold video he took on Jan. 6. In another case, a Florida man’s plea deal allows the U. S. government to collect profits from any book he has published over the next five years. And prosecutors want a Maine man who raised more than $ 20,000 from supporters to surrender some of the money because a taxpayerfunded public defender is representing him.
Many rioters have paid a steep personal price for their actions on Jan. 6. At sentencing, rioters often ask for leniency on the grounds that they already have experienced severe consequences for their crimes. They lost jobs or entire careers. Marriages fell apart. Friends and relatives shunned them or even reported them to the FBI. Strangers sent them hate mail and online threats. And they have racked up legal bills to defend themselves against federal charges that include misdemeanors and felonies.
Websites and crowdfunding platforms set up to collect donations for Capitol riot defendants try to portray them as mistreated patriots or even political prisoners.
An antivaccine medical doctor who pleaded guilty to illegally entering the Capitol founded a nonprofit that raised more than $ 430,000 for her legal expenses.
The fundraising appeal by Dr. Simone Gold’s group, America’s Frontline Doctors, didn’t mention her guilty plea, prosecutors noted.
Before sentencing Gold to two months behind bars, U. S. District Judge Christopher Cooper called it “unseemly” that her nonprofit invoked the Capitol riot to raise money that also paid for her salary. Prosecutors said in court papers that it “beggars belief ” that she incurred anywhere close to $ 430,000 in legal costs for her misdemeanor case.
Another rioter, 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 participation in the Capitol breach in this way,” Justice Department lawyers wrote.
Robert Palmer, a Florida man who attacked police officers at the Capitol, asked a friend to create a crowdfunding campaign for him after he pleaded guilty. After seeing the campaign to “Help Patriot Rob,” a probation officer who was calculating a sentencing recommendation for Palmer didn’t give him credit for accepting responsibility for his conduct. Palmer was sentenced to more than f ive years in prison.
Jeremy Grace, who was sentenced to three weeks in jail for entering the Capitol, tried to profit by helping his dad sell T- shirts, caps and other gear with phrases such as “Our House” and “Back the Blue” and images of the Capitol, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Grace’s “audacity” to sell “Back the Blue” paraphernalia is “especially disturbing” because he watched other rioters confront police officers on Jan. 6. A defense lawyer said Grace didn’t break any laws or earn any profits by helping his father sell the merchandise.
Federal authorities seized more than $ 62,000 from a bank account belonging to riot defendant John Earle Sullivan, a Utah man who earned more than $ 90,000 from selling his Jan. 6 video to at least six companies. Sullivan’s lawyer argued that authorities had no right to seize the money.
Richard “Bigo” Barnett, an Arkansas man who was photographed with his feet on a desk in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has charged donors $ 100 for photos of him with his feet on a desk while under house arrest. Defense lawyer Joseph McBride said prosecutors have “zero grounds” to prevent Barnett from raising funds for his defense before a December trial.
In another case, prosecutors cited social media activity in recommending a two- month jail term for Treniss Evans III of Texas, who drank a shot of whiskey in a congressional conference room on Jan. 6. Evans has “aggressively exploited” his presence at the Capitol to expand his following on Gettr, a social media site founded by a former Trump advisor, prosecutors wrote. Sentencing is scheduled for Tuesday.
A few rioters are writing books about the attack or have marketed videos they shot during it.
A unique provision in Adam Johnson’s plea agreement allows the U. S. government to collect profits from any book he has published over the next f ive years. Images of Johnson posing for photographs with Pelosi’s podium went viral after the riot. Prosecutors said they insisted on the provision after learning that Johnson intends to write a memoir “of some sort.”
Ronald Sandlin, a Nevada man charged with assaulting officers, posted on Facebook that he was “working out a Netflix deal” to sell riot video. He also asked his mom to contact publishers for the book he was writing about the “Capitol incident,” prosecutors said.
“I hope to turn it into movie,” Sandlin wrote in a March 2021 text message. “I plan on having Leonardo DiCaprio play me,” he added, with a smiley- face emoji.