DOJ seeks 120-day prison term for J6 journalist who never entered Capitol, spoke out about ‘stolen election’ on air

The Biden DOJ claimed that Shroyer "spread election disinformation paired with violent rhetoric" to viewers in the months leading up to January 6, and that on the day, "Shroyer took to a megaphone before leading a crowd to the Capitol" and said "The Democrats are posing as communists, but we know what they really are: they’re just tyrants, they’re tyrants. And so today, on January 6, we declare death to tyranny! Death to tyrants!"

"Shroyer did not stop at the sight of tear gas or sounds of explosions on the west side of the Capitol. He continued marching around to the top of the east steps chanting '1776!,' where rioters would eventually violently breach the Capitol and its police line and halt the transfer of presidential power," the court document states.

"Shroyer did not step foot inside the Capitol, he did not need to; many of those who listened to him did instead. In the aftermath, he has blamed 'Antifa' and told his followers: 'We should have been proud of what happened.'"

The DOJ claimed that Shroyer "helped create January 6," in that he "stoked the flames of a potential disruption of the certification vote by streaming disinformation about alleged voter fraud and a stolen election to thousands, perhaps millions, of viewers of his program on InfoWars."

Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of 120 days, 12 months of supervised release, 60 hours of community service, and $500 in restitution.

Prosecutors say that Shroyer’s previous arrest after disrupting a House Judiciary Committee meeting in 2019, in which he agreed not to engage in disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, as well as commentary he gave leading up to January 6, factored into their recommended sentence.

On January 6, Prosecutors allege that Shroyer, "After hearing that people may have breached the Capitol, " began leading a crowd of people down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Ellipse where Trump was speaking to the Capitol building.

"En route, Shroyer continued shouting to the crowd walking behind and around him through his megaphone: 'The traitors and communists that have betrayed us know we’re coming. We’re coming for all you commie traitors and communists that have stabbed us in the back. You’ve stabbed us in the back one too many times!'"

Shroyer entered Capitol grounds just before 1 pm, and began leading chants of "USA" west of the Capitol building.

Prosecutors say that a security guard for "Person One" spoke with a uniformed police officer in an attempt to de-escalate the situation. "The police officer tried to get them to go back out through the area where other rioters had breached; the group did not do so."

Shroyer was seen making his way to the steps of the Capitol building, where he once again led chants from the crowd.

Following the day, "Shroyer continued to peddle January 6th conspiracy theories on his Internet streaming show," prosecutors allege.

In one May 17 broadcast, Shroyer said "yeah, January 6 got a little out of control, yeah, there was some violence against the police, there was a little bit of violence to the building too, property damage," adding that January 6 was "like a mouse that roared."

In June, Shroyer pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of entering a restricted area, according to the Associated Press. Shroyer will be sentenced on September 12.

Owen Shroyer Sentencing Memorandum by Hannah Nightingale on Scribd