Jay Johnston: Hollywood actor jailed for role in January 6 US Capitol riots
A Hollywood actor best known for roles in Anchorman and Mr. Show has been sentenced over his role in the January 6 US Capitol riots.
Jay Johnston, who also had supporting roles in Arrested Development and Bob’s Burgers, was sentenced to 12 months and a day in federal prison on Monday.
The 56-year-old from Chicago was arrested in June 2023 and pleaded guilty in July to a felony offence of obstructing officers during a civil disorder.
He was dropped as a featured voice in Bob’s Burgers long before the legal repercussions of his involvement.
In their sentencing memo, federal prosecutors, who had sought a sentence of 18 months, included a photo of him “dressing up as Jacob Chansley, known as the ‘QAnon Shaman'” at a Halloween party two years after the attack.
Prosecutors said Johnston spent about 10 minutes in the lower west tunnel that leads into the Capitol on 6 January 2021.
During that time, he was accused of having helped “at least four other rioters” wash their eyes out after being sprayed with pepper spray.
He was also accused of having used a stolen riot shield to make a “shield wall” against the police and participated in a “heave-ho” push that crushed officer Daniel Hodges against a door frame.
Johnston “sent messages to friends and family in the days after 6 January claiming the events at the US Capitol were exaggerated by the media”, prosecutors added.
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Lawyer Stanley Woodward, representing Johnston, said the government had “persistently overstated” his client’s role in the attack “because he is an acclaimed Hollywood actor”.
In a sentencing memo, Mr Woodward wrote that Johnston “had not been able to sustain his livelihood as an actor” and he had “essentially been blacklisted by Hollywood”.
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More than 1,500 people have been arrested in connection with the attack on the Capitol, with 1,100 of those having been convicted.
More than 600 of those convicted have been sentenced to periods of incarceration ranging from a few days behind bars to 22 years in federal prison.
