A Washington state man was sentenced Wednesday to more than seven years in prison for using a megaphone to plan an attack on guards guarding the U.S. Capitol.
Jan. 6, 2021 Judge Royce Lamberth said the videos captured Taylor James Jonatakis playing a leading role in the riot. Janatakis led other rioters, charging the police line, “shouting orders” into a megaphone and issuing step-by-step instructions to the guards, the judge noted.
“In any angry mob there are leaders and there are followers. Mr. Jonatakis was a leader. “He knew what he was doing that day,” the judge said before handing down a sentence of seven years and three months.
Representing himself with a lawyer as counsel, Jonatakis has repeatedly expressed rhetoric inspired by the anti-government “sovereign citizen” movement. During sentencing, ask the judge, “Am I on record as sorry for my sins?” He asked questions like
Lambert, who called some of Jonatakis' words “disorganized speech,” declared: “I'm not going to answer questions here.”
Recommendation, 9 years
Prosecutors recommended that Jonatakis, a self-employed septic system installer, be sentenced to nine years in prison.
“Jonatakis is not another rebel; “He directed, organized and encouraged the attack on officers at the United States Capitol on January 6,” prosecutors wrote in court documents.
After a trial last year in Washington, D.C., jurors found him guilty of the crime as charged.
Jonatakis, 40, of Kingston, Washington, Jan. 6 with a megaphone strapped to his back as he marched toward the Capitol at then-President Donald Trump's rally near the White House.
“It's done!” He shouted at the rioters there. “Michael Pence has voted against the president. We must exercise the nuclear option.
About 1,350 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riots. More than 800 of them have been convicted, and roughly two-thirds have received sentences ranging from several days to 22 years.
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