A father and son from Iowa — 51-year-old Daryl Johnson and his son, 29-year-old Daniel Johnson — have both been sentenced to prison in connection to their participation in the Capitol riot. Daryl received one month, and Daniel got four months, and both were also sentenced to a year of probation apiece.
Both Johnsons previously pleaded guilty to a charge of civil disorder, which is a felony and comes with up to five years in prison — although obviously, significantly shorter sentences are possible. The pair were among the first Trump supporters to enter the Capitol on the day of the riot, and in the aftermath of the violence, they stood by the cause. “It’s going to get very ugly and probably result in some version of a civil war,” Daryl said in a private message via Facebook days after the riot. Over a month following the riot, Daryl said on social media he had “no problem dying in a pool of empty shell casing.”
While at the Capitol building, the Johnsons at one point were in a group that surged towards police and helped open the Capitol’s East Rotunda doors, which provided opportunities for rampaging rioters lingering outside to enter the building. U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, a Trump appointee, went slightly below what prosecutors sought for the Johnsons in delivering their sentences. For Daryl, prosecutors sought a sentence of three months in jail, while authorities hoped for six months in jail for Daniel — instead, as mentioned, they got one and four months, respectively. Friedrich indicated the lack of premeditation behind what the Johnsons did that day in D.C. didn’t mean they should be absolved of responsibility. “That is the case with a lot of crimes… Many, many defendants are held responsible for impulsive decisions they made in seconds,” the judge observed.
The Johnsons aren’t the first father-son duo to get nabbed by authorities for participating in the riot. Recently, Chicago man Matthew Bokoski and his father, Bradley, who has the same last name, were charged with a slew of misdemeanors. On social media, Matthew — who was wearing a large Trump flag as a cape at the Capitol — directly admitted to something for which he’s now been charged. “So only thing I’m guilty of is trespassing on federal property if you want to get down to it,” he said. His alleged offenses now include illegally entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds — which sounds as though it could be summarized as a federal trespassing offense. Meanwhile, prosecutors have continued to notch victories in trials tied to the riot. The recently concluded fifth jury trial for a riot participant ended with the defendant found guilty on all counts — all five jury trials have ended the same. The House committee investigating the Capitol riot plans to begin its new public hearings June 9.
FLASH: Judge sentences father and son from Iowa to prison in Jan 6 case. Judge cites Daryl & Dan Johnson's role in being part of mob push against police
Johnson's sought probation arguing *they* were pushed by mob and will suffer financially due to felony.
Didn't work https://t.co/8aW61S8TtT
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) June 1, 2022
