An Iowa construction worker who was among the first rioters to enter the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced to 60 months in prison, 36 months supervised release and $2,000 of restitution Friday.
Des Moines native Doug Jensen — easily spotted in pictures from the Capitol riot thanks to the “Q” T-shirt he wore that day, an homage to the conspiracist movement QAnon — addressed the court Friday before the sentence was announced, saying “I can’t change my past, I can just look to the future.”
Jensen also said he doesn’t plan to get “involved in the judicial system” again and that he wants to go back to being the “family man I was before I got involved in politics.”
Jensen’s attorney also told the judge prior to the sentence being handed down that his client had a “childhood of horrors” that began in infancy. “The context of his childhood influenced his belief system,” Jensen’s attorney added.
Jensen was convicted of obstructing an official proceeding and six other criminal charges in September for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.
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During his trial, prosecutors showed extensive video and photographs of Jensen parading through the Capitol. The jury also heard testimony from law enforcement with whom he clashed in the building.
According to testimony and video, Jensen pursued U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman up a staircase inside the building. Goodman later said that the Iowa man encouraged fellow rioters to “keep running” because the officer was just “one person — we’re thousands.”
“Jensen was the rioter who would not back down,” prosecutors argued. “If it wasn’t all recorded from at least 10 different angles, it’d be pretty hard to believe.”
But Jensen’s attorney, Christopher Davis, argued that Jensen was “dressed in costume,” not “dressed for battle,” like some at the Capitol on Jan. 6. The COVID-19 pandemic “did weird things to everyone,” perhaps Jensen more than others, Davis argued, repeatedly calling the Iowa rioter a “confused man.”
“He believed (QAnon),” Davis said. “He honestly believed it … There’s no other explanation for what he did that day.”
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Justice Department sought a five-year sentence
The Justice Department sought a 64-month prison term for Jensen, plus three years of supervised release and a $2,000 fine, according to court filings.
“(Jensen) came to Washington, D.C., prepared for violence, and when the day approached, he played a significant role leading the violent crowd past the police line, into the building and through the halls of the Capitol,” prosecutors’ sentencing memo said. The memo described Jensen as “a ringleader during the attack on the U.S. Capitol.”
U.S. Capitol Police Inspector Thomas Loyd, who testified in Jensen’s September trial, submitted a statement claiming that, had Goodman not acted that day, Jensen and other rioters would have done far more damage.
“If Officer Goodman had not led the Defendant and the rest of the mob away from the Senate Lobby and an attempt was made to breach those doors, there would have been tremendous bloodshed,” Loyd said.
The defense asked for a 27-month sentence, arguing Jensen is an “an uneducated union laborer who became overwhelmed by conspiracy theories.” Several dozen friends and family members submitted letters to the court in support of Jensen, court filings show.
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Inside the courtroom:What we learned in the courtroom for Capitol rioter Doug Jensen’s trial
Defendants who attacked police officers on Jan. 6 have tended to get longer sentences than other rioters. The longest was 10 years given to a retired New York police officer and Marine veteran, Thomas Webster, who attacked and choked an officer.
Federal prosecutors have charged more than 880 people in 48 states with participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, and arrests continue.
Story Credit: usatoday.com