Ohio men get 45 days in jail for Capitol riot
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Federal prosecutors assert that everybody who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 should be evaluated individually when deciding if a prison sentence is warranted. On Wednesday, a judge accepted the Justice Department’s assessment that two friends from Ohio fall into a category of rioters who deserve to be incarcerated.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg sentenced Derek Jancart and Erik Rau to 45 days in jail. Prosecutors had recommended four months of imprisonment for both. They must report to jail by Nov. 29.
The jail sentences for Jancart and Rau could become benchmarks for how the courts resolve many other Jan. 6 prosecutions, a caseload that tops 600 defendants and grows by the week.
Like most of the insurrectionists who have pleaded guilty so far, Jancart and Rau aren’t accused of engaging in any violence or destruction at the Capitol or of conspiring to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral victory. Defense attorneys compared their actions to those of other Capitol riot defendants who avoided prison sentences after pleading guilty to non-violent misdemeanors.
But prosecutors cited several factors in arguing that prison, not probation, was the appropriate sentence.
They said Jancart, an Air Force veteran, prepared for violence on Jan. 6 by bringing a gas mask and two-way radios to Washington. Rau, a steel mill worker, brought a medical kit and Kevlar-lined gloves.
They said Jancart and Rau spent 40 minutes inside the Capitol, reaching House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s conference room. Jancart celebrated the violence on social media and didn’t show any remorse when the FBI arrested him, according to prosecutors.
They said Rau screamed, “We have you surrounded!” at police officers and shouted, “Go, go, go!” and “Yeah, they just pushed through the guards!”
“This was not a protest,” prosecutors wrote. “And it is important to convey to future rioters and would-be mob participants – especially those who intend to improperly influence the democratic process – that their actions will have consequences.”