A father and son hailing according to authorities from Texas have both been sentenced to years-long stints in jail after participating in the Trump-incited attack on the Capitol in early 2021. Both physically assaulted police officers.
The father and son — and newly sentenced rioters — were Jason and Grady Owens, respectively. They were participating in physical confrontations with officers shortly before the Capitol building itself was actually breached on that fateful afternoon, according to a timeline provided by the Justice Department in a press release. They also stuck around, attempting later to evidently get inside the building. In the earlier confrontations, Grady hit one officer with a skateboard. He has now received a sentence of over three years in prison from federal Judge Beryl Howell. His father, Jason, was sentenced to two years in jail after also fighting with another officer that day over the cop’s baton, besides other acts. Both will be under years of supervised release when they get out.
“Around the same time, court documents say that Jason Owens shoved an officer in the face hard enough for the officer’s head to snap back,” the Justice Department explained in that press release, referencing the point when Grady struck an officer with that skateboard. Unsurprisingly, it seems the two men were in close proximity during key points of the violent Capitol assault. As previously highlighted on Twitter by journalist Ryan Reilly, grandparents of Grady were actually also in D.C. that day, though they’ve seemingly not faced any accusations of participating in what engulfed the Capitol.
Though this isn’t to necessarily cast pity on those Trump duped with his election lies to the point of storming D.C., this is the basic reality of what he’s done. To serve his hyper-inflated ego, he’s thrown rhetorical bombs that have resulted in upended families across the country, encouraging those willfully or ignorantly vulnerable to his bullsh*t to be their worst selves. And this means something, with crime after crime directly tied to Trump’s rhetoric. Over 1,000 people have been charged from January 6. He’s wrecking these people’s futures so he can make a buck off America.
37 months for Grady Owens. 24 months for his dad, Jason Owens. https://t.co/1MTnxJGjRW
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) June 23, 2023
