Substitute while the actions of the article are loading
A federal judge on Wednesday found a father with a Confederate flag and his adult son, who violated the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, guilty of obstructing lawmakers while they met to certify President Biden’s 2020 election victory.
U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden pleaded guilty to 52-year-old Kevin Sifrid and 24-year-old Hunter Sifrid on charges of obstruction, as well as border violation and related offenses. His sentence came after a two-day trial in which U.S. prosecutors and law enforcement witnesses claimed the men crossed police lines and were among the first 15 rebels to break into the Capitol building.
In particular, the group chased U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman to the main entrance to the Senate Hall, with Kevin Sifrid shouting, “Where are the members? Where do you count the votes? “
The judge pleaded not guilty to destroying federal property worth less than $ 1,000 for clearing pieces of glass and climbing through a window smashed by the first group of rebels.
On the most serious charge, punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years, McFadden, who was tried in court after the two men relinquished their right to a jury, found that Seefrieds had the “necessary intent” to “wrongfully” “They prevented the deputies when they stormed the building, chased the police and forced the deputies to be evacuated.
“As an initial issue of wrongdoing, things like breaking into a Capitol window, threatening police and joining a mob chasing an officer through the Capitol are so obviously wrong that they don’t require a little more explanation,” said McFadden, a 2017 Trump. appointed.
“I find that defendant Kevin Sifrid has in fact obstructed certification with his actions,” McFadden said.
McFadden said that while there was “huge video evidence” that the events unfolded, as prosecutors claim, whether or not Hunter Seefried intended to damage property or acted as aggressively as his father was a “closer person.”
This video shows one of the earliest cases of rebels invading the Capitol on January 6, 2021 (Video: Brendan Gutenschwager via Storyful)
Although McFadden acquitted the younger Seefried of damaging the window, he said the 24-year-old “knows what he’s doing.”
He joined the Capitol crowd, which repeatedly shouted, “Where are they hiding? Where are the members? “Where are the votes being counted?” McFadden said. “This is not final proof, but his decision to continue with the mafia suggests his intention.
McFadden also quoted a statement from Hunter Sifrid to the FBI, in which he claimed to have told police: “What is happening in this room, in this building, affects my lifestyle.”
Goodman – whose actions in the building that day were filmed in a video that went viral – testified in court that Kevin Sifrid was the first intruder he met while breaking through the Senate wing on the first floor of the building.
Goodman said the older Seefried hit him with the back of the flagpole and shouted that he wanted to know where the deputies were. Kevin Seafried told an FBI interviewer that he ran into an officer matching Goodman’s description, saying, “You can shoot me, man, but we’re coming in,” according to evidence provided by prosecutors.
A video made by the crowd shows that Kevin Sifrid is quickly joined by other angry rebels who chase Goodman up the stairs. The officer led them out of the corridor leading to the Senate entrance, used by Republicans, officials, and Vice President Mike Pence’s ceremonial offices. Instead, the group followed him to the corridor with the Ohio clock on the mosaic tile floor. Goodman testified that the corridor led to the Senate’s main entrance, where he was he knew that employees were deployed to provide support.
Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman confronted a mob that violated the U.S. Capitol on January 6. (Video: Igor Bobich / HuffPost via Storyful)
Prosecutors Brittany L. Reed and Bennett Kearney say Seafried was part of the first group of rebels to enter “with the intention of reaching members of Congress.” The group included two prominent figures who were accused of leading indictment: Douglas Jenson, who wore a black T-shirt decorated with an eagle and a logo of QAnon’s extremist ideology, and “QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley, who wore a spear and a megaphone on the Senate floor and carried red-white-blue face paint and a leather hat with horns. Jenson is on trial in September; Chansley pleaded guilty.
Prosecutors released a video of Hunter Seafried’s interview with the FBI, in which he said he wanted to support Trump and “stop the theft.”
A video like this shows Kevin Sifrid saying he came to Washington to stand up for Trump, and admits that he told a police officer in the building, “This affects us all.” Prosecutors say the comment shows his intention to halt lawmakers’ work.
FBI Special Agent Joseph Lear said investigators did not investigate Kevin Seefried’s communications on social media because he deleted them before he and his son surrendered on January 12, 2021.
U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols sentenced the father and son on September 16 and 23, respectively.
Add Comment