From the Justice Department:
Joshua Dillon Haynes, 40, of Covington, Virginia, was sentenced to 32 months in prison. Haynes pleaded guilty on October 28, 2022, in the District of Columbia, to obstruction of an official proceeding and destruction of property.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan ordered restitution, to be determined at a future date, and 36 months of supervised release.
According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, at about 2:30 p.m., Haynes was illegally on restricted grounds, part of a mob that gathered on the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol, outside the East Rotunda Doors.
About 20 minutes later, he followed a mob of rioters and entered the Capitol Building through the Senate Wing Door. He remained there until approximately 3:12 p.m., walking in areas including the Crypt and inside the office of a U.S. Senator.
While outside the building, Haynes assisted two other individuals in forcibly removing an air conditioning unit from a building outside the Capitol and dropped the unit to the ground.
At about 4:50 p.m., a large crowd of rioters made its way to and past a media staging area that was set up outside the northeast corner of the Capitol, on the grounds.
Media members were forced to flee the area before they could recover their cameras and associated equipment. Numerous members of the crowd destroyed equipment, including cameras, tripods, and remote broadcasting equipment.
At about 5 p.m., Haynes picked up and slammed down multiple pieces of equipment that belonged to media outlets. Later Jan. 6, after the equipment at the media staging area was destroyed, Haynes sent an associate a text message saying, “broke lotsa stuff.”
He then sent an image with the message, “We attacked the CNN reporters and the fake news and destroyed tens of thousands of dollars of their video and television equipment.” He also sent this message to the same associate, “I want to get busted for tearing up the nations capital and the fake news.”
*Joshua Dillon Haynes of Covington VA, who was charged in the Capitol riot, is behind bars again, this time for assaulting a family member.
*Feds say he destroyed media equipment on Jan. 6.
*He’s now charged with strangling and malicious bodily injury. https://t.co/oims8TFAqg pic.twitter.com/LRzfOHECqa— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) August 9, 2021
Joshua Dillon Haynes sentenced to two years and eight months in federal prison in his Jan. 6 case. https://t.co/hrkqwI4u9L
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) February 2, 2023