Washington -- August 31, 2022:  A man from the District of Columbia was given a 55-month prison term today for a criminal conviction related to his conduct on January 6, 2021, when the U.S. Capitol was breached.

He and other people's efforts caused a joint session of the US Congress to be disrupted that was convened to determine and tally the electoral votes for the presidential election.

Joshua Pruitt, 40, a former resident of Washington, D.C., was sentenced in the Distrcit of Columbia.

A gathering was attended by Pruitt and other Proud Boys members on January 6, 2021, according to court records. The Proud Boys identify as a "pro-Western fraternal society for guys who refuse to apologize for establishing the modern world; nicknamed Western Chauvinists." He started marching from the rally place to the Capitol at around 12:30 p.m. He was impermissibly on the Northwest Lawn's restricted property at at 2:10 p.m. He was donning a knuckle-padded tactical glove. He observed rioters go past a line of police officers and climb the steps to the Upper West Terrace. Pruitt followed them and ascended the steps using a piece of fencing as a makeshift ladder.

Pruitt climbed the steps and moved in the direction of the Capitol building. At about 2:14 p.m., he leaped over a railing and entered the Capitol through the Senate Wing Door. One of the first rioters to enter the Crypt, he tossed a wooden sign. Pruitt proceeded in the direction of the Capitol Visitors Center when rioters broke over the police line in the Crypt. He took a chair and threw it. He then kept walking toward the Senate Metro. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and his security team, who had left the Senate Chamber, were moving toward the elevators in the northern section of the Visitor's Center as they ascended a ramp. A guard in the detail noticed Pruitt approaching. Senator Schumer and his security detail turned around, fleeing the elevator and returning down the ramp.

At at 2:52 p.m., Pruitt crawled out a window to exit the structure. He was detained on the evening of January 6 for breaking a Washington-imposed curfew, and federal charges were later brought against him the following day.

On June 3, 2022, Pruitt entered a guilty plea to the allegation of obstructing an official procedure. He will be given a three-year supervised release following his prison sentence. He must also make a $2,000 reparation payment.

The National Security Division of the Department of Justice's Counterterrorism Section and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia prosecuted the case.

The FBI's Washington Field Office looked into the situation. The Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police both contributed significantly.

Over 860 people have been detained in virtually all 50 states in the 19 months since January 6, 2021 for offenses connected to the breach of the US Capitol, including over 260 people accused of assaulting or obstructing law officers. The inquiry is still ongoing.

Wnctimes by Marjorie Farrington 


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