Comedian Jay Johnston was sentenced to one year in prison in the Capitol burglary case
An actor who is known for his role in television comedies Bob's Burgers again Arrested Development On Monday he was sentenced to one year in prison for being part of a mob that attacked the US Capitol nearly four years ago.
Jay Johnston, 56, of Los Angeles, joined other rioters “on the front line” against the police who were guarding the tunnel leading to the Capitol during the violence of Jan. 6, 2021. Johnston also cracked jokes and communicated with other insurgents while using a cell phone to record the violence around him, prosecutors said.
Johnston expressed regret that he “made it more difficult for the police to do their job” on Jan. 6. He said he never thought that there would be trouble that day.
“That was because of my ignorance, I believe,” he told US District Judge Carl Nichols. “If I was into politics, I would see that, maybe.”
The judge, who sentenced Johnston to one year and one day in prison, allowed him to go free after the trial and report to prison at a date to be determined. Nichols said she realizes Johnston will miss caring for her 13-year-old autistic daughter while incarcerated.
“But his behavior on Jan. 6 was a problem. It's really suspicious,” said the judge.
Arrest is not fast
Johnston pleaded guilty in July to interfering with police during a public disturbance, a charge that carries a five-year prison sentence.
Prosecutors recommended that Johnston be sentenced to 18 months in prison. Their sentencing memo includes a photo of a smiling Johnston dressed as Jacob Chansley, a spear-wielding Capitol rogue known as “QAnon Shaman,” at a Halloween party nearly two years after the siege.
“He thinks his participation in one of the most serious crimes against our democracy is a joke,” prosecutors wrote.
Johnston was a regular player in four seasons of Mr. Show with Bob and David in the mid-1990s, a sketch comedy led by Bob Odenkirk and David Cross. Johnston echoed pizzeria owner Jimmy Pesto Sr. in Bob's Burgersthe policeman entered Arrested Development and he was one of the rowdiest detectives in the movie Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.
Johnston, a native of Chicago, moved to Los Angeles in 1993 to pursue a career in acting. After this uproar, Johnston was fired by the creator of the Bob's Burgerslost a role in a movie based on the show and has been “blacklisted” from Hollywood, defense attorney Stanley Woodward said.
“Instead, Mr. Johnston has worked as a manual laborer for the past two years — a clear departure from his true expertise and livelihood in film and television,” Woodward wrote.
Woodward accused the government of exaggerating Johnston's involvement in the riots “because he is a Hollywood star.”
He helped push the police into the tunnel
Johnston attended then-president Donald Trump's “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House on Jan. 6 before marching to the Capitol. He used a metal bicycle rack to scale a stone wall to reach the Capitol's West Plaza before entering the entrance to a tunnel guarded by police on Lower West Terrace.
“While at the foot of the street, he turned around and waved at other protesters, begging them to join him in fighting the police,” prosecutors wrote.
A Trump supporter who was hostile to a CBC reporter apologizes for his behavior on Jan. 6, 2021.
As they entered the tunnel, Johnston helped other protesters remove chemical irritants from their eyes. Another protester gave him a stolen police shield, which he placed near the police line. Johnston then joined the rest of the rioters in a “hard-fought” attack on officers in the tunnel, a combined effort that smashed the officer into the door frame, prosecutors said.
Johnston recorded himself cracking a joke as protesters pushed an orange ladder toward police in the tunnel, saying, “We're going to fix those traffic lights!”
After the tumultuous day, in a text message to an acquaintance, Johnston admitted he was at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
“The news presented it as an attack. It wasn't. I thought it turned out to be that. It was chaos,” Johnston wrote.
FBI agents seized Johnston's cell phone while searching his California home in June 2021.
More than 1,500 people have been charged in connection with the riots at the Capitol. More than 1,000 rebels have been convicted and sentenced. About 650 of them received prison terms ranging from a few days to 22 years.
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