Robin Lee Reierson (U.S. Attorney’s Office).
A former welder for a national science and engineering lab in Illinois was given an 18-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to assaulting cops at the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riots.
Robin Lee Reierson, 69, learned his fate on Wednesday for his role in the insurrection, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced in a press release. He was immediately taken into custody after the hearing, an unusual move as defendants in these cases are usually allowed to get their affairs in order before reporting to prison to begin their sentence, Chicago ABC station WLS reported.
He was also ordered to pay $7,000 in restitution and fines. Reierson pleaded guilty in July to assaulting officers.
Reierson went to Washington, D.C., that day for former President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally. Afterward, he went to the Capitol building, chanting “Stop the Steal” with the crowd, according to a statement of facts.
At the West Plaza, he can be seen in surveillance footage in a black motorcycle helmet, using his back and body to push against a bike rack barrier and into the line of officers. At one point, he used his hands, lowered his shoulder into officers, and tried to grab an officer’s baton before withdrawing from the confrontation.
“Don’t stop, keep going,” he told other rioters. “Put the cameras down, keep going.”
The FBI arrested Reierson on Aug. 23, 2023, in Illinois. A local police officer confirmed his identity, court documents said.
Reierson’s sentencing memo says he’s a husband and father with a decades-long history of law-abiding conduct. He had worked at the Argonne National Laboratory for 40 years, primarily as a Welding Group Leader until his forced retirement in September 2023, stemming from his prosecution.
He expressed remorse for demonstrating a “gross lapse in judgment” on Jan. 6 when his actions went from a peaceful and lawful expression of his First Amendment rights to “obviously breaking the law,” the memo said, arguing against incarceration while citing numerous medical conditions, including a recent heart catheter intervention, an enlarged prostate, coronary artery disease, and a history of kidney stones.
“He remains deeply remorseful for his actions, particularly in light of the extreme impact of his and the others’ conduct upon those brave members of law enforcement who were simply trying to do their jobs and to protect the democratic process,” the document said.
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