Joe.My.God. LGBT News
Via press release from the Justice Department:
An Ohio man was sentenced in the District of Columbia today on five offenses, including a felony, committed during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.
Alexander Sheppard, 24, of Powell, Ohio, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates to serve 19 months in prison and 24 months of supervised release. Sheppard also was ordered to pay $3,170 in restitution and fines.
According to evidence introduced at trial, Sheppard was among the first rioters to enter the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and joined others in overrunning multiple police lines established to stop the mob’s spread. Inside the Crypt, he and fellow rioters were captured on video as they pushed through a police line designed to prevent the mob from moving towards the House Chamber where members of Congress were present.
He then recorded a video of himself proudly proclaiming: “I’m here with some goddamn heroes, and we just shut down Congress! They called an emergency session, they said we’re too scared, they’ve shut down Congress. Let’s fucking go!”
Additional video showed Sheppard running to the Speaker’s Lobby doors and screaming at the U.S. Capitol Police officers who stood guard there while House members and staff prepared to evacuate behind them.
Sheppard captured video of fleeing members of congress and looked on as other rioters violently punched out the windows of the doors— just inches away from the officers’ heads. Sheppard left only after witnessing another rioter get shot by law enforcement after attempting to climb through the broken windows of the same doors.
In the days following the breach, Sheppard posted threatening statements on social media directed towards the Vice President. On Jan. 9, 2021, Sheppard posted on Parler, “[w]e shouldn’t hang Mike Pence. Firing squad!”
Sheppard has posted this to Twitter:
Today I turn myself in to federal prison for the 19 month sentence I received for peacefully protesting inside the People’s House on January 6th, 2021. I was 21 years old at the time, and I have been fighting these charges for the last 3 years. It is my great honor to be held hostage as a political prisoner in these United States of America. Goodbye, for now.
Welcome to the “Find Out” part of your journey. Hope the “Fuck Around” on Jan 6 was worth it.
— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@BettyBowers) November 2, 2023