‘I trusted the President’: Jan. 6 rioters in their very own phrases

Facing jail time, many Jan. 6 rioters admit they had been improper to enter the US Capitol and disavow political violence, regardless of what former President Donald Trump claims in spreading lies in regards to the assault.
Some instantly blame Trump for deceptive them and warn Trump supporters to not belief him. Others stay defiant and allege they’re victims of so-called cancel tradition.
At least 170 rioters have pleaded responsible and greater than 70 have been sentenced. One case was dismissed and two others closed after the individuals charged died. No one has been discovered not responsible.

A sampling of what they and their legal professionals have stated in court docket:
“Why did I enter the Capitol building? I don’t have a good answer. I’ve gone over it a thousand times and I’m still not sure why I didn’t recognize what was happening and take alternative action. There were some factors influencing me that day which cannot be discounted. We were told, ‘everyone is going to the Capitol’ and ‘be peaceful.’”
“The entire experience was surreal. I trusted the President and that was a big mistake.”
—Leonard Gruppo, of Clovis, New Mexico, in a letter to the decide sentencing him. Gruppo, a retired Special Forces soldier, was sentenced to a few months’ home arrest.

“I have realized that we, meaning Trump supporters, were lied to by those that at the time had great power, meaning the then sitting President, as well as those acting on his behalf.”
“They kept spitting out the false narrative about a stolen election and how it was ‘our duty’ to stand up to tyranny. Little did I realize that they were the tyrannical ones desperate to hold on to power at any cost, even by creating the chaos they knew would happen with such rhetoric.”
—Robert Palmer, of Largo, Florida, in a handwritten letter. Palmer threw a hearth extinguisher and attacked law enforcement officials. He was given greater than 5 years in jail.
This police body-worn picture from video, annotated by the supply reveals Glenn Wes Lee Croy contained in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP)
“False claims were made on media sources, as well as by the President himself, that the election system had been corrupted and that the integrity of the election should be questioned. … Mr. Croy believed what he read on the internet and heard from the President himself — that the election had been stolen.”
—lawyer Kira Anne West, writing in a court docket submitting for Glenn Wes Lee Croy, from Colorado Springs, Colorado, who was sentenced to a few months’ house detention.
“I have attended several of Pres. Trump’s events without incident. … My intention that day was to support, not to cause any kind of trouble. I am deeply saddened at the events that transpired on that day and very remorseful that I will forever be associated.”
—Dona Sue Bissey, of Bloomfield, Indiana, in a handwritten letter. She was given 14 days in jail.
“The only plan I had was to go to the White House Ellipse to listen to President Trump’s speech. He said during his speech that he would be going to the capitol after he spoke and he asked us to walk there together after his speech. I left his speech early to walk back to my hotel room because I was cold. Once back in my room, I saw on the news that people where (sic) at the capitol building. … Having travelled a long way to attend this rally, I decided to put on an extra layer of clothing and walk to the capitol.”
—Valerie Elaine Ehrke, of Arbuckle, California, in a letter to the court docket. Ehrke was given three years’ probation. Trump by no means went to the Capitol that day.
In this picture from Senate Television video, Paul Allard Hodgkins, 38, of Tampa, Fla., entrance, stands within the properly on the ground of the US Senate on Jan. 6, 2021, on the Capitol in Washington. (AP)
“This country has a long history of the public seeking to punish those who are perceived to have done wrong in ‘their’ eyes. …. A significant percentage of our population will ‘cancel’ Mr. Hodgkins because of 15-minutes of bad judgment, casting stones in his directions, all the while never fully realizing their own indiscretions and hypocrisy.”
—lawyer Patrick Leduc, writing in a court docket submitting for Paul Allard Hodgkins, of Tampa, Florida, who breached the Senate carrying a Trump marketing campaign flag. Hodgkins was given eight months in jail.
This picture US Capitol Police safety video reveals Jennifer Leigh Ryan contained in the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP)
“While I feel badly about unlawfully entering into the Capitol on January 6th, not everything I did that day was bad. Some actions I took that day were good. I came to DC to protest the election results. I wanted my voice to be heard. My only weapon was my voice and my cell phone.”
“It is my belief that America is presently in an ‘Information War.’ This so-called ‘war’ that I spoke of, using my first amendment rights, is a war that is not fought with weapons, but with words, ideas, constructs and opinions.”
—Jenna Ryan, of Frisco, Texas, in a letter to the court docket. Ryan acquired 60 days in jail after posting on-line that “I have blonde hair white skin a great job a great future and I’m not going to jail.” She instructed NBC News in an interview printed this week that she was being scapegoated “like the Jews in Germany.”
This Statement of Offense doc within the authorities’s case towards Devlyn Thompson was photographed on Dec. 20, 2021. (AP)
“My conservative creed still remains the same. However, the system of governance, a constitutional republic, and the processes in place for deciding who sits in the Oval Office behind the Resolute Desk transcends any one candidate or party. That peaceful transfer of power and the method set out for achieving it are worthy of protection. My message to fellow conservatives, or any American dissenting with the current administration, is that we must continue our work within the confines of the system and condemn the actions on January 6th as atrocious.”
—-Devlyn Thompson, of Seattle, in a handwritten letter. Thompson, who pleaded responsible to assaulting a police officer with a baton, acquired almost 4 years in jail.