WASHINGTON — On Friday, a federal judge sentenced a father and son from Butler County to 12 months probation for illegally demonstrating in the United States Capitol during the riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
The charge is a misdemeanor.
Paul Seymour Jr. held a Trump flag as he and his father, Paul Seymour Sr., walked inside the breached Capitol with rioters, and posed for a photo next to a statue of Confederate hero Robert E. Lee, according to documents filed by the U.S. Attorney's office in the District of Columbia.
"I apologize," Seymour Jr. told U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta. "My ignorance is inexcusable."
The Seymours didn't damage property or physically hurt anyone that day, according to court records.
According to the Department of Justice, the Seymours are among about 900 people charged in the massive federal investigation.
"A riot cannot occur without rioters, and each rioter’s actions — from the most mundane to the most violent — contributed, directly and indirectly, to the violence and destruction of that day," Asst. U.S. Attorney Anita Eve wrote in the government's sentencing memo.
Like thousands of protesters that day, the Seymours traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend the "Stop the Steal" rally near the White House to show support for then-President Donald Trump, who claimed without proof that the election was stolen from him.
According to federal prosecutors, the Seymours entered the Capitol building "through broken Senate Wing Doors," after some rioters assaulted officers, and officers had used pepper spray to disperse the crowd and ordered them to leave.
The Seymours were inside the Capitol for "almost 30 minutes parading through the building at will," according to the prosecution's sentencing memo. "After it had grown dark in Washington, D.C. on January 6, the Seymours finally left the restricted grounds of the Capitol. Seymour Jr. posed for a photograph taken of himself in front of a line of police officers who had formed a perimeter outside the Capitol."
Former U.S. Attorney David DeVillers — a partner with Barnes & Thornburg in Columbus — said this case is another example of the consistent approach prosecutors are using in the massive investigation.
"We don't want anyone to do this again," DeVillers said. "And we're going to send the message that we're going to prosecute everyone for every misdemeanor, for every felony that we can if we can establish that there's probable cause to do so."
The U.S. Attorney's Office in D.C. asked the judge to sentence the Seymours to 90 days home confinement and three years probation.
But Judge Mehta said the Seymours hadn't made threats, damaged property, entered anyone's office or physically hurt people. So, that combined with additional factors convinced the judge to hand down a much lighter sentence.
Like his son, Paul Seymour Sr. also apologized during his sentencing hearing.
“I shouldn’t have been there, period," he told the judge.
Seymour Sr. said after he and his son posed for a photo in the Capitol, he told his son, "it's time to walk out of here."
In addition to their probation, the Seymours are also required to perform 60 hours of community service.
