George Amos Tenney
George Tenney was only in the Capitol building for a few minutes, but essentially for opening a door to its Rotunda, he was sentenced to 3 years in federal prison.
George AmosTenney, IIIhad lived in Anderson, South Carolinasince the age of 8. After earning a university degree studying biology, he returned to his adopted hometown, and had built a full life there by his mid-thirties. He was the executive chef at a respected retirement community’s restaurant, a single father of two children, and was in a serious relationship with a woman he hoped to marry
He had always loved his country, but it wasn’t until the Trump administration that Georgebecame politically engaged. At the invitation of a platonic friend, Chloe,he became an administrator on a Facebook page called The PowerHouse Patriot, a conservative website that covered current events such asthe promotion of leftist agendas in public schools.Like millions of other Trump supporters,the suddenly shifting results and irregularities around the electionof November 2020 outraged George.Hefelt compelled to act for the sake of his children’s future. He made plans to travelto Washington, D.C. tohelp Chloe record a podcast of then-President Trump’s “Stop the Steal”protest rally at the Capitol Mall. He was also excited“to show support” that would hopefully pressure Vice President Pence into stopping a fraudulent election.
A week beforethe trip, George posted on Facebook, telling friends on the PowerHouse Patriot page, “It’s starting to look like we may siege the capital [sic] building and [C]ongress if the electoral votes don’t go right. We are forming plans for every scenario.”In coming months, such statements would be turned against him by federal prosecutors.
On January 6, 2021, George and Chloejoined the crowd of over 200,000 in cheeringafterPresident Trump proclaimed, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
After the speech, George and Chloeproudly marched up Pennsylvania Avenue, interviewing protestors along the way.By the time they arrived at Capitol Hill, earlier crowds had already removed several lines of barriers surrounding the area – including temporary fences dotted with “AREA CLOSED” signs announcing that Capitol Hill was off-limits. Like most of the tens of thousands of protestors on January 6th, Georgeand Chloe saw no indication that “the People’s House” was closed to the public that day.
By the time they reached the Capitol building itself, the pair of friends wereshocked to witness a police blockade, officers throwing tear gas and other “less-lethal” grenades into the crowd, beating them back with batons, and dangerously firing rubber bullets at
citizens from a high vantage point. Amidst the chaos, George got separated from Chloe.Climbingup the Capitol steps,adrenaline fueled George as he joined the wave of people that surged past police barriers
and entered the Senate Wing of the Capitol. Alongside a newfoundbuddy, a former Marine named Darrell Youngers, Georgepassed through the Crypt and into the Rotunda.
Making their way to the East Rotunda, George and Darrellspotted a crowd of protestors behind the windows of a pair of emergency exit doors. After a few failed attempts at opening the magnetically sealed doors, surveillance video shows George speaking to an unknown, off-camera individual before he figured out how to unlock the doors.George pulled aside an officer blocking the entrance, then pushed back a member of the House Sergeant at Arms and two other Capitol Police officers who tried to stop the protestors who poured in.With the help of Darrell, George assisted the stream of folks entering the building, patting them on the back and helping them move forward.
“Stand up, Patriots, stand up!” he cheered them on.
Police ultimately forced George out of the doorwayand sealed off the doors. He and Darrell then retreated to the Rotunda and exited the Capitol through a window at approximately 2:32 p.m.
George and Darrellweretwo of the firstprotestorsto enter the building,and two of the first peopleto exit. Altogether, they had been inside the Capitol for 13 minutes.
George and his friend Chloe soon reconnected and returnedhome to their separate lives inAnderson, South Carolina.
Glad to be back home with his kids and his girlfriend, Georgehad no clue thatfederal prosecutorsback in Washington were building a case against him– at least not until an FBI agent with the Joint Terrorism Task Force showed up at his doorstep on February 9th.George nervously answered the agent’s questions, honest and polite in recounting his activities on January 6th. He expressed regret in hindsight that he had entered the Capitol building, even though he had been careful not toinjureanybody and had even stopped some rioters from damaging Capitol property.
Almost seven months after he had entered the Capitol, on June 29, 2021, GeorgeTenneywasput in handcuffs and transported to Washington, D.C., where he was arraigned with his J6 friend, Darrell Youngers.
Federal prosecutors charged George with two felony counts –“Civil Disorder”and “Obstruction of an Official Proceeding” — plus seven other misdemeanors, such as “Act of Physical Violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings” and “Parading, Demonstrating or Picketing in a Capitol Building.” They slappedDarrell with the same “Obstruction” charge and other, similar counts.
Such a felony “Obstruction” count has become a favorite tactic of the Biden Department of Justice against J6ers. Twisting the “obstruction of an official proceeding” provision ofthe Sarbanes-Oxley Act — meant to punish crimes such as the shredding of documents during a financial crime investigation –federal prosecutors can elevatewhat would otherwise be misdemeanors into a felony. Then they stack other chargeson top tomaximize the hard time they can give to Trump supporters. Such abuse of the Act is being challenged in the Supreme Court.
Represented by a court-appointed lawyer, George appeared before a U.S. District Court Judge who released himon bond, required him to surrender his passport and prohibited him from possessing a firearm for the duration of his court proceedings.
After waiting in suspense for almost a year, on June 30, 2022, George was transported back to D.C. for his trial. At the urging of his D.C. court-appointed defense attorney, he accepted the plea bargain offered to him. Pleading“guilty” to the two felony charges, he was sentenced to 3 years of incarceration, followed by3 more yearsof parole, and fees totaling $2,200.
Georgeis currentlyliving far away from his children and fiancée, behind razor wire inside an Ohio federal prison.His release date is July 23, 2025.
Please consider contributingto George’smealand other commissary expenses via this link, using his prisoner number (52618-1509):
Pray for George’s spirits andsend messages of encouragement by mailing letters or cardsto:
GEORGE AMOS TENNEY III #52618-1509
FCI ELKTON, FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION
P.O. BOX 10
LISBON, OH 44432