A host for Alex Jones’ “Infowars” network is the latest person present during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol Building to cop a plea with federal prosecutors.
According to documents filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., host Owen Shroyer pleaded guilty on Friday to entering a restricted area during the Capitol breach, though he did not go into the building itself, The Epoch Times reported.
The outlet added that Shroyer faces up to a year in prison and that a sentencing hearing will be held later this year.
A day before the riot, on Jan. 5, Shroyer told supporters in the nation’s capital, “Americans are ready to fight. We’re not exactly sure what that’s going to look like perhaps in a couple of weeks if we can’t stop this certification of the fraudulent election of Joe Biden.” He added that “we are the new revolution” and “We are going to restore, and we are going to save the republic!”
He also made similar remarks on his Infowars show that same day, the report said.
On the day of the riot, the host stood near the U.S. Capitol Building and railed at Democrats in general, saying into a loudspeaker, “We declare death to tyranny” and “Death to tyrants!”
“Today we march for the Capitol because on this historic January 6, 2021, we have to let our Congressmen and women know and have to let Mike Pence know, they stole the election, we know they stole it, and we aren’t going to accept it,” he added.
He led chants of “USA” and “1776” as throngs marched towards the Capitol. He reportedly entered the Capitol grounds around 1 p.m. While on the Capitol steps, he led similar chants, the report said.
Shroyer’s attorney, Norm Pattis, said his client was at the Capitol that day as a journalist.
“To the extent that he was present on Capitol grounds, it was as part of a political demonstration. He did not engage in violence or in any attempt to impede or obstruct but mainly observed. As a journalist, he had an obligation to be close to the action,” Pattis noted in a motion to dismiss the charges.
In his own defense, Shroyer said he was there primarily to “report on my observations to our millions of listeners and viewers worldwide.”
He added that he went with Jones to see then-President Donald Trump give his speech, which was about a mile from the Capitol. Shroyer and Jones, with security detail in tow, then walked to the Capitol with a crowd of people.
After Jones saw the crowd grow unruly, he attempted to calm people down as Shroyer stood alongside him, the host said.
But federal prosecutors argued, “Harkening to the last time Americans overthrew their government in a revolution while standing on the Capitol steps where elected representatives are certifying a Presidential Election you disagree with does not qualify as de-escalation.”
The Epoch Times noted further:
The motion to dismiss was withdrawn as part of Shroyer’s plea agreement.
Shroyer pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. In exchange, three other charges were dropped.
“Mr. Shroyer entered a guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge and will be sentenced in September. We are hopeful that he will be spared incarceration,” Pattis told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement. “We thank prosecutors for being reasonable in his case and wish that same spirit of reasonableness were more broadly shared in the Department of Justice. Jan. 6 was a riot, not an insurrection. A misdemeanor conviction is all this was worth.”
According to his statement of offense, Shroyer admitted to violating the law by entering the Capitol grounds, which included passing through barricades that were torn down and moved and at least one sign saying “Area Closed.”