WASHINGTON — A Marine Corps veteran will serve 10 days in jail for stealing two microphones from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s lectern on Jan. 6, a federal judge ruled Friday.
Robert Petrosh, of New Jersey, appeared before U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden to be sentenced for one Class “A” misdemeanor count of theft of government property. In exchange for his guilty plea in January, prosecutors agreed to drop four other misdemeanor counts against him.
Petrosh’s attorney, Steven Scheffler, said his client was a “misdirected tourist with some misguided beliefs.” Scheffler said Petrosh had listened to former President Donald Trump speak on Jan. 6 before heading with thousands of others to the U.S. Capitol Building. He said that, while Petrosh was unapologetic about supporting Trump or his continued belief that the election was stolen, he was remorseful about what he’d done at the Capitol. He added Petrosh’s beliefs about the election remained so strong he’d said he might not ever vote again.
Scheffler also told McFadden it was “glaringly clear” the government’s recommendation of 120 days’ jail time was incredibly disparate from other defendants arrested in connection with riots in Portland or protests during the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. It was the second time in a week defense attorneys had urged McFadden to view the Capitol riot as on par with Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020. On Wednesday, McFadden – who had pressed federal prosecutors himself in other hearings about what he sees as sentencing disparities – sentenced Texas florist Jenny Cudd to two months of probation after finding the government had used “two different standards” in recommending jail time.
But McFadden also said he saw Petrosh as being one of the more serious misdemeanor cases. He agreed with the prosecution that Petrosh’s actions on Jan. 6 – facing off with police, smoking in the Rotunda and yelling at officers, “Give us Nancy Pelosi!” – showed disrespect to the nation and a level of brazenness that warranted some jail time. He did not agree, however, with the DOJ’s recommendation. Instead of four months behind bars, McFadden sentenced Petrosh to serve 10 days in jail and pay a $1,000 fine, along with $938 in restitution. He also ordered Petrosh to return the two microphones he’d stolen from the Speaker’s lectern to the government. A representative from the probation office said they were concerned the microphones could be resold online for a large amount, due to their connection to the riot.
Prior to hearing his sentence, Petrosh offered a brief statement to McFadden reinforcing what his attorney had said.
“While I stand by my political beliefs that led me to Washington, I am remorseful for my actions,” Petrosh said.
Petrosh was allowed to self-surrender to federal authorities. He was given 30 days to return the microphones to pretrial services in New Jersey.
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