The man who filmed the shocking fatal shooting of Ashli Babbitt in the Capitol building on Jan. 6 was sentenced on Friday to six years in prison.
John Earle Sullivan, 29, of Salt Lake City, Utah, was sentenced “on felony and misdemeanor charges related to his conduct during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021,” according to the Justice Department. “His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.”
(Video: YouTube)
On Nov. 16, 2023, Sullivan “was found guilty by a federal jury of felony offenses of obstructing an official proceeding, obstructing officers during a civil disorder, entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon, disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon, and unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon on Capitol grounds or buildings,” the DOJ states. “In addition to the felonies, the jury also found Sullivan guilty of misdemeanor offenses of disorderly or disruptive conduct in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.”
(ReThe FBI would later determine that Sullivan had a Smith & Wesson M&P pocket knife on him.)
U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth handed down a sentence of 72 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release. Sullivan was also ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.
The statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia reads like a dime-store novel.
“According to court documents, in the days and weeks leading to the events of Jan. 6, 2021, Sullivan used various digital platforms and personas to present himself as an activist; however, on these platforms, Sullivan made his true objectives clear: to cause pure chaos and disruption to the status quo,” the Justice Department claims. “Sullivan alternated between advertising legitimate protests and broadcasting violent anti-establishment rhetoric.”
The DOJ continues:
On Jan. 6, 2021, Sullivan, fitted with a ballistic vest, gas mask, and bull horn, joined rioters storming the U.S. Capitol. Sullivan joined the crowd pushing through several police barriers on the west side of the Capitol grounds, using the bull horn to encourage others statements like “Get in that s—, let’s go! Move, Move, Move! Storm that s—!” As Sullivan and the others approached the Capitol building, Sullivan can be heard in his video saying at various points: “There are so many people. Let’s go. This s— is ours! F— yeah,” “We accomplished this s—. We did this s— together. F— yeah!” “We are all a part of this f—ing history,” and “Let’s burn this s— down.”
On the Upper West Terrace of the Capitol, Sullivan triumphantly put his hand above his head and let out several celebratory whoops. Sullivan assisted a rioter scale the wall of the Upper West Terrace, calling the feat “awesome” and “savage.” Before entering, Sullivan told his companion that he would continue to film as “a good ploy” so he would not get arrested after entering the building.
The murder of Ashli Babbitt was barely a footnote: “After the windows were broken out, a woman climbed through, resulting in her being shot.”
According to the Washington Post, Sullivan “was paid $90,875 for his videos before he was convicted at trial.”
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Author: Melissa Fine
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