Hollywood Actor Sentenced to a Year in Prison on Jan. 6 Charges
Hollywood actor Jay Johnston has been sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison for his involvement in the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. Federal prosecutors had sought an 18-month sentence. Johnston, known for his work in popular shows like “Anchorman,” “Bob’s Burgers,” and “Mr. Show,” was arrested in June 2023 and pleaded guilty to obstructing officers during a civil disorder.
Prosecutors described Johnston as participating in violent areas of the riot for nearly four hours, including actions that impeded law enforcement efforts, such as forming a “shield wall” to push against the police. Although he assisted others in decontaminating after exposure to pepper spray, his lawyer argued that Johnston has faced significant professional backlash, claiming he has been blacklisted in Hollywood and reduced to working as a handyman since the events at the Capitol.
Johnston’s attorney contended that the prosecution targeted him due to his celebrity status, emphasizing that he did not play a disproportionate role in the riot relative to the government’s accusations. The sentencing forms part of a broader crackdown on over 1,500 individuals arrested in connection with the January 6 events, with many receiving various prison sentences.
Hollywood actor Jay Johnston was sentenced to federal prison Monday for his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol incursion.
Johnston received a sentencing of 12 months and a day, though federal prosecutors pushed for 18 months, NBC News reported.
The actor is most famous for his roles in “Anchorman,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “Mr. Show” and “Arrested Development.”
OMG: Jay Johnston is a loving father & career Hollywood comedian.
He didn’t hurt anyone or break anything on J6–he only dared to support President Trump. He was raided by the FBI in 2021, but not charged…
but Kamala’s DOJ lied, and *now* they’re throwing him in prison?
MADNESS pic.twitter.com/6V9C8FUDGm— John Strand (@JohnStrandUSA) October 31, 2024
Arrested in June 2023, Johnston pleaded guilty in July this year to a felony offense of obstructing officers during a civil disorder.
In a sentencing memorandum, federal prosecutors said that Johnston “was part of a massive riot that almost succeeded in preventing the certification vote from being carried out.”
The memorandum added that Johnston spent nearly four hours in “the most violent areas of the riot — the West Plaza and the tunnel.”
While in the tunnel, Johnston allegedly participated in a “shield wall” and a “heave-ho” push against police, during which Metropolitan Police Department Officer Daniel Hodges was pinned against a door frame.
He also helped fellow protesters wash pepper spray from their eyes.
Johnston’s woes surrounding his role on Jan. 6 began before he was arrested in 2023, however.
Stanley Woodward, Johnston’s lawyer, described in a sentencing memorandum the actor’s difficulty finding work since his involvement on Jan. 6, 2021.
“Chagrined by the scorn he has faced in Hollywood and despite his established successful career as an actor, Mr. Johnston has essentially been blacklisted by Hollywood, and has since not been able to find work in acting,” Woodward said.
“Instead, Mr. Johnston has worked as a handyman for the last two years — an obvious far cry from his actual expertise and livelihood in film and television.”
Woodward also asserted that Johnston was being targeted by the federal government for political reasons.
“Since his indictment in July 2023, the government has persistently overstated Mr. Johnston’s participation at the Capitol that day: because he is an acclaimed Hollywood actor, and the government is using his status to make a point to the public,” Woodward said.
“At the same time, 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,” he said.
Johnston is, of course, not the only Jan. 6 protester being prosecuted.
More than 1,500 people have been arrested in connection with the events that day, and 1,100 defendants have been convicted so far, according to NBC News.
More than half of those convicted received sentences ranging from a few days to 22 years in prison.
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