WASHINGTON D.C., DC — Two men will each serve 45 days in prison for crimes committed during the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol, despite other defendants receiving probation after pleading guilty to the same charge.
In court Wednesday, Robert Bauer and Edward Hemingway pled guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol Building, a petty misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months in prison.
Bauer admitted to traveling from his home in Kentucky to Winchester, Virginia to meet up with Hemmingway, his cousin. According to prosecutors, the two men marched from then-President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally to the U.S. Capitol and went inside, passing S.W.A.T. officers standing outside the Capitol building. The two men took selfies and videos inside the Capitol, with Bauer chanting, “Our house! Our house!” with a large crowd behind him, according to court docs.
The Department of Justice asked Judge Tanya Chutkan to sentence both men to 30 days in prison and pay $500 restitution for damage to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
But despite pleas from both men’s attorneys that they were “regretful” and “ashamed” of what they did and should be given probation, Chutkan sentenced them to 45 days in jail, more than what the government had asked for.
“They say that they followed that crowd and got caught up,” Chutkan told the court. “They didn’t get caught up. They got caught."
Chutkan also pointed to the defendants “extensive criminal histories in handing down her sentence, and acknowledged other U.S. District Court judges have given probation to other Capitol Riot defendants who pled guilty to the same misdemeanor charge.
“Note that I’ve already given sentences of incarceration in these cases, including an individual with no criminal history,” Chutkan said. “Other judges have given probation. There has to be consequences for actions."
Both men will be allowed to self-surrender to serve their jail terms.
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