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A book, t-shirts and funds to raise money: some accused of the assault on the Capitol try to profit from their crimes

2022-08-15T13:04:28.720Z


In some cases, rioters have used the attack as a platform to promote their business, political aspirations, or social media profiles. Many have raised money to pay for their defense expenses.


By Michael Kunzeman

Associated Press

Some of those accused of storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, are trying to cash in on their involvement in those deadly riots by using them as a platform to earn money, promote business initiatives and improve their social media profiles, despite facing prison sentences. imprisonment and terrible personal consequences.

A Nevada man who was jailed for his involvement has asked his mother to contact the publishers of a book he is writing about "the Capitol incident."

A Washington state troublemaker helped his father sell clothes and other merchandise with slogans like "Our Home" and pictures of the Capitol building.

Another Virginia man released a rap album of songs about the riots, the cover of which shows him sitting on top of a police car in front of the Capitol on the day of the incident.

Supporters of President Donald Trump tried to break down the barriers guarded by the police on January 6, 2021, in Washington. Julio Cortez / AP

Those actions sometimes complicate matters for defendants when they face judges at sentencing, as prosecutors single out lucrative activities to demand harsher punishments.

The Department of Justice, in some cases, tries to recover the money that these people have earned through the insurrection.

In one case, federal authorities seized tens of thousands of dollars from a defendant who sold his Jan. 6 images.

In another, a Florida man's plea deal allows the government to collect profits from any books he publishes in the next five years.

And prosecutors want a Maine man who raised more than $20,000 from his supporters to hand over some of the money because he is represented by a taxpayer-funded public defender.

[Committee investigating Capitol storming to detail Trump's inaction during riots "minute by minute"]

Many of the people involved in these incidents have paid a high personal price for their actions.

At sentencing, they often ask for leniency on the grounds that they have already experienced serious consequences for their crimes.

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They lost jobs or entire careers.

Some marriages broke up.

Friends and relatives avoid them or even report them to the FBI.

Strangers have sent them hateful messages and threats online.

And they have expensive legal bills to deal with in defending themselves against federal charges ranging from misdemeanors to felonies.

Websites and crowdfunding platforms created to raise donations for those indicted for the Capitol riots attempt to portray them as battered patriots or even political prisoners.

An anti-vaccine doctor who pleaded guilty to trespassing on Capitol Hill founded a nonprofit organization that raised more than $430,000 for her legal expenses.

The fundraising appeal from Simone Gold's group, America's Frontline Doctors, did not mention her guilty plea, prosecutors said.

[The Secret Service deleted messages from January 6 and the day before the Capitol storm]

Before sentencing Gold to two months in jail, US District Judge Christopher Cooper called it "unseemly" that his organization invoked the Capitol riots to raise money.

Prosecutors said in court papers that "it's unbelievable" that he incurs nearly $430,000 in legal costs for his misdemeanor case.

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Another defendant, a New Jersey gym owner who punched a police officer during the siege, collected more than $30,000 in online donations for a "patriot relief fund" that seeks to cover his mortgage payments and other bills. monthly.

Prosecutors cited the fund in recommending a fine for Scott Fairlamb, who is serving a prison sentence of more than three years.

"Fairlamb should not be able to 'capitalize' on its involvement in the Capitol breach in this way," Justice Department attorneys wrote.

Robert Palmer, a Florida man who attacked cops on Capitol Hill, asked a friend to create an online crowdfunding campaign after he pleaded guilty.

After viewing the "Help Patriot Rob" campaign, a probation officer who was going to make a sentencing recommendation for Palmer did not give him credit for accepting responsibility for his conduct.

Palmer admitted that a post for the campaign falsely portrayed his behavior on Jan. 6.

Accepting liability can help shave months or even years off a sentence.

[“It will change history.”

Committee investigating Capitol attack prepares for first public hearing]

"When you threw the fire extinguisher and the table at the policemen, were you acting in self-defense?" US District Judge Tanya Chutkan asked.

"No ma'am, I didn't," Palmer said before the judge sentenced him to more than five years in prison.

A group calling itself the Patriot Freedom Project says it has raised more than $1 million in contributions and paid more than $665,000 in grants and legal fees to families of those indicted for the Capitol riots.

This implies that they are investigating Trump's actions regarding the assault on the Capitol and the electoral result.

July 27, 202202:20

In April, a New Jersey-based foundation associated with the group filed a tax-exempt application with the IRS.

As of early August, an IRS database does not list the foundation as a tax-exempt organization.

The Hughes Foundation's application says its funds will "primarily" benefit the families of the Jan. 6 defendants, so about 60% of the money donated will go to the foundation's activities.

The rest will cover administration and fundraising expenses, including salaries, it adds.

Protesters have found other ways to enrich themselves or promote themselves.

Jeremy Grace, who was sentenced to three weeks in prison for breaking into the Capitol, tried to profit from his involvement by helping his father sell T-shirts, baseball caps, water bottles, stickers and other items with phrases like "Our House" and "Back the Blue" and footage of the Capitol, prosecutors said.

[Giuliani's "Drunkenness," Trump's Daughter's Sayings, and Other Viral Moments from the Capitol Attack Hearings]

Prosecutors said Grace's "boldness" in selling such merchandise is "especially disturbing" because she saw other rioters confront police officers on Jan. 6.

However, a defense attorney said Grace did not break any laws and did not make a profit.

she helping her father to sell the merchandise.

Federal authorities seized more than $62,000 from a bank account belonging to defendant John Earle Sullivan, a Utah man who made more than $90,000 selling his Jan. 6 video to about six companies.

Sullivan's attorney argued that authorities had no right to seize the money.

Richard "Bigo" Barnett, an Arkansas man photographed propping his feet up on a desk in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has charged donors $100 for photos of him with his feet on a desk while under house arrest.

Defense attorney Joseph McBride said prosecutors have "zero reason" to prevent Barnett from raising defense money from him before his December trial date.

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"Unlike the government, Barnett does not have the American taxpayer footing the bill for his legal case," McBride wrote in a court filing.

Texas real estate agent Jennifer Leigh Ryan promoted her business on social media during and after the riots, boasting that she was "getting famous."

In messages sent after Jan. 6, Ryan "contemplated the business she needed to prepare for as a result of the publicity she received by joining the assault on Capitol Hill," prosecutors said in court documents.

[Former Trump Advisor Steve Bannon Convicted of Contempt of Congress in Capitol Assault Investigation]

Prosecutors cited the social media activity of Treniss Evans III in recommending a two-month prison term for the Texas man, who had a shot of whiskey in a congressional conference room on Jan. 6.

Evans has "aggressively exploited" his presence on Capitol Hill.

to expand the social media following of him on Gettr, a social networking site founded by a former Trump adviser, prosecutors wrote ahead of Evans' sentencing, scheduled for next Tuesday,

Some are writing books about the attack or have marketed videos they shot during the riots.

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A unique provision in Adam Johnson's plea agreement allows the US government to profit from any book it publishes for the next five years.

Images of Johnson posing for pictures with Pelosi's podium went viral after the riots.

Prosecutors said they insisted on the provision after learning that Johnson intends to write a memoir "of some sort."

Ronald Sandlin, a Nevada man accused of assaulting officers near the Senate gallery doors, posted on Facebook that he was "negotiating a deal with Netflix" to sell video footage of riots.

Later, in a call from jail, Sandlin told his mother that he had met with right-wing author and filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza and that he was in contact with broadcaster Joe Rogan.

He also asked his mother to contact the publishers of the book he was writing about the "Capitol incident," prosecutors said.

"I hope to make it into a movie," Sandlin wrote in a March 2021 text message. "I want Leonardo DiCaprio to play me," he wrote, adding a smiley face emoji.

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2022-08-15

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