A former Missouri Christian school teacher and her husband were sentenced to home confinement and two years of supervised release for their roles in the Capitol riot.
The Wilsons were sentenced by the District Judge to 45 days of home confinement and 30 days of community service. They have to pay $500 for the damage done to the Capitol during the insurrection.
It's hard to avoid getting on a soap box, but I don't.
The country was to transition power peacefully from one president to the next on January 6.
He told the Wilsons that the decision to do something contributed to a transition of power that was marred by violence, destruction and death. It's not justified.
The sentencing for parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building was held via video conference. The maximum sentence for the Wilsons was six months in jail and a $5,000 fine. The government had recommended that the person be imprisoned for 14 days, sentenced to three years and fined $500.
The Wilsons are the third and fourth Missouri residents to be sentenced for their roles in the Capitol riot cases. The judge issued their sentences after they addressed him.
I can't apologize enough for the actions of that day, and my wife and I went to Washington, D.C., to hear former President Trump speak. We did not intend to interfere with the proceedings. We followed the crowd up to the building after we saw them.
I'm incredibly sorry for my part in putting a stain on American history.
Mehta asked why he thought it was permissible to break into the Capitol.
President Trump told everyone that the election was stolen, and people were angry. We thought we were there for the speech. He already had everybody working up that when he said turn around and march. To be honest, I really feel stupid.
Wilson told the judge that her arrest will be one of the most life-changing things that she will ever go through.
She said that what she did on January 6 was wrong. I am deeply and truly sorry for my actions that day.
She said their lives would never be the same.
I have lost two jobs because of my actions that day, and my family is struggling.
At the time of her arrest last August, Wilson was working as a first grade teacher at Dayspring Christian School in Springfield.
She told the judge that seeing cities burn and people divided for the last several years was the reason she went into the Capitol building. It was a mistake.
Mehta told the couple that they victimized themselves.
He said that you were told lies about election fraud. You believed them. You acted on that.
He said that the couple had overcome difficult pasts and that he believed they would not do it again.
The hardest part of all of this is the fact that you have to explain to your kids what happened and how their parents got caught up in something that they shouldn't have.
Wilson was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building. Six months later, Wilson was charged with disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, parading, demonstrating or picketing, and entering or remaining in a restricted building.
The counts were not felonies. The government dropped the other counts against the two as part of the plea agreement.
The Wilsons were accused of illegally entering and roaming through the Capitol, including the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The pictures and video were posted on Facebook. One post said first ones in. The first thing we found was Pelosi's office.
Rioters' actions from the most mundane to the most violent contributed directly and indirectly to the violence and destruction of that day.
The trauma experienced by the members of Congress and Speaker Pelosi's staff is significant. A group of Pelosi's staffers hid under a desk for more than two hours.
The government acknowledged that the Wilsons accepted responsibility early in the case, and that the Wilsons made a significant effort to get the FBI videos and pictures taken by their son.
The need for a sentence that included some jail time was underscored by their repeated lies to the FBI.
The Wilsons asked for 12 months of supervised release. They went to Washington, D.C. to show their support for Trump at the rally.
The Wilsons rented a car and went to D.C. with a friend to hear Trump speak.
West said that she never planned to go to the Capitol. Mrs. Wilson followed the large crowd that day.
Attorneys for the Wilsons said that they were not dressed for combat, nor did they destroy any property. They were in the Capitol for less than 20 minutes and were respectful while in Pelosi's office.
After seeing the video footage of protesters beating police officers, spraying gas in their faces, screaming obscenities, and destroying property, it made her cringe. She is left with deep regret, fear, shame, and remorse.
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