Insets: Jay James Johnston (U.S. Attorney’s Office). Background: Johnston at the entrance to a tunnel of the U.S. Capitol building during the riots on Jan. 6, 2021. (U.S. Attorney’s Office).
The comedic actor behind memorable roles in “Bob’s Burgers” and “Anchorman” has taken a new role: incarcerated felon.
Jay James Johnston, 55, was sentenced to one year in prison for participating in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The riot interrupted Congress’ certification of President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral win and forced lawmakers and staff to flee or shelter in place for hours. He is alleged to have participated in a group-pushing effort against law enforcement at the area of the Capitol grounds known as the Tunnel, where some of the most violent attacks on police took place that day.
Johnston, who lives in Los Angeles, California, pleaded guilty in July to felony civil disorder.
At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, acknowledged that the prison time will keep Johnston away from his 13-year-old daughter, who has autism, The Associated Press reported.
“But his conduct on January 6th was quite problematic,” Nichols said, according to the AP. “Reprehensible, really.”
Johnston, for his part, reportedly expressed regret that he “made it more difficult for police to do their job” that day, adding that his limited understanding of politics contributed to his role in the violence.
“That was because of my own ignorance, I believe,” he told Nichols, according to the AP. “If I had been more political, I could have seen that coming, perhaps.”
Johnston traveled to Washington, D.C., from LA on Jan. 5, 2021, to attend Trump’s so-called “Stop the Steal” rally. In his remarks, Trump encouraged his supporters to “fight like hell” against the transfer of power to Biden.
Johnston was seen at around 2 p.m. standing in the crowd of Donald Trump supporters behind a row of police barricades, recording the events on his cellphone. Prosecutors say that over the next 40 minutes, as barricades were removed by rioters and police were forced to retreat, Johnston advanced toward the Capitol building. At around 3:03 p.m., he allegedly made his way through the crowd and approached the entryway to the Tunnel, where some of the most violent attacks against law enforcement took place. He is alleged to have turned to face the crowd before making a series of hand gestures, including pounding his fists together and pointing, appearing to encourage rioters to enter the Tunnel.
A minute later, he allegedly pushed toward the Tunnel and was given a stolen U.S. Capitol police riot shield from a rioter behind him. Prosecutors say he held the shield in front of himself for “a few seconds” and then, when other rioters called out to “make a shield wall,” Johnston moved closer to the police line and handed the shield up to rioters who were immediately in front of the police. Prosecutors say that shortly after that, Johnston joined a group push effort against the police line by pushing against the rioters in front of him, who in turn pushed directly against the police.
By 3:10 p.m., Johnston was allegedly pushed back toward the Tunnel entrance by other rioters who were leaving, but he did not leave. Instead, prosecutors say, he headed toward the police line in the Tunnel, and joined a group push against law enforcement, causing a Metropolitan Police Officer to be crushed between the crowd and a door.
The sentence strikes somewhat of a middle ground between the 18 months federal prosecutors had requested and the four to 10 months Johnston’s lawyer had sought.
In a sentencing memo, Johnston had asked Nichols for leniency, arguing prosecutors overstated his role in clashing with police during the attack and were using his status as an acclaimed Hollywood actor to make a point to the public.
“The government has steadfastly refused to admit that the evidence in support of Mr. Johnston’s indictment does not support the oversized and disproportionate role it accuses Mr. Johnston of playing,” attorney Stanley Woodward Jr. wrote in the memo. “Mr. Johnston’s conduct in this action following the events of January 6, 2021, reflect genuine remorse and an acceptance of responsibility.”
Johnston’s lawyer said it is clear that the “heave-ho” occurred around Johnston, not that he participated in, let alone caused it.
The memo said his participation in the insurrection has led him to be effectively blacklisted by the film and television industry, and he has been publicly dropped from various projects, including as the voice actor for Jimmy Pesto, Sr. in the animated series “Bob’s Burgers.”
He now works as a handyman and splits child care duties for his 13-year-old daughter, who has autism, with her mother, his lawyer said.
In their sentencing memo requesting 18 months incarceration, prosecutors said Johnston has no remorse. They said he took part with other rioters calling for the formation of a “shield wall” and “participated with other rioters in a group assault on the officers defending the [lower west terrace] entrance.”
Prosecutors said he later sent messages to friends and family, claiming the events at the Capitol were exaggerated by the media and that it was a “setup” by the police and “Antifa.”
Prosecutors said that two years later, Johnston even dressed up as Jacob Chansley, the so-called “QAnon Shaman,” at a Halloween party, making light of his participation in the riot.
According to the federal docket, Johnston will be allowed to self-surrender for his sentence. The docket did not indicate a specific report date.
Jason Kandel contributed to this report.
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