The US District Court District of Columbia sentenced an orchestrator of the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot to 87 months of imprisonment and ordered him to pay $2000 in restitution.

On November 21, 2023, the court found Taylor James Johnatakis guilty of seven charges, including three felonies, due to his participation in the riot. The most notable convictions were “obstruction of an official proceeding” and “engaging in an act of physical violence in the grounds of any of the Capitol building.” The riot was caused by some attendees of ex-President Donald Trump’s “Save America” march under their belief that the 2020 US Presidential election was fraudulent.

On Wednesday, the court issued Johnatakis’s sentence based on the necessity “(A) to reflect the seriousness of the offense, to promote respect for the law, and to provide just punishment for the offense,” “(B) to afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct” and “(C) to protect the public from further crimes of the defendant.” Accordingly, the court found that Johnatakis’s actions required the severe sentence of 87 months imprisonment because of his leadership role in the riot, along with his lack of remorse and his deceptiveness during the trial.

The court found Johnatakis to be a leader of the riot because when rioters advanced and pushed police up the US Capitol, Johnatakis used a megaphone to direct the rioters. Afterward, he used the megaphone to direct the rioters to push bike racks into the police. The court also found that on the day before, he posted on social media to encourage the riot at the US Capitol, such as him stating,”[B]urn the city down. What the British did to DC will be nothing … ”

Additionally, the court looked at a YouTube video uploaded on January 9, 2024, titled “D.C. Gulag & NYC Tunnels.” In it Johnatakis said, “[W]e did nothing. We touched a gate. We got pepper sprayed, we moved back. That was it,” and “[e]verything about January 6 is just overblown.” The court found those comments to express Johnatakis’s lack of remorse and his dishonesty due to his also pleading to the trial witnesses to accept his sincere apology.

US District Judge Royce C. Lamberth stated:

Violence risks begetting a vicious cycle that could threaten cherished conventions and imperil our very institutions of government. In that sense, political violence rots republics. Therefore, January 6 must not become a precedent for further violence against political opponents or governmental institutions.