Robert Gieswein

He drove from Colorado on January 5^th to be among the throngs of protestors concerned that the election was rigged.  He had serious questions and was willing to go to DC to get answers. His actions that day were recorded and reported in newspapers and TV stations around the world.  What he did was no different than hundreds of other protestors, but he became the face of the rallies being one of the first to be prosecuted.

He brought with him a baseball bat for self-defense, knowing that Antifa or the FBI dressed as Trump supporters could be heavily armed. Robert was not wrong about the heavily armed, but it was the Capitol police that attacked.  Soon as he got close to the Capitol, walking up peacefully, police opened fire with rubber bullets, tear gas and flash bangs, without warning.  Robert and his fellow patriots felt it was their right to be at the capitol and even inside, “The People’s House”.  Police, which has since been discovered, were ordered to open fire when they even got close.

Robert was one of the first to breach a broken window and go inside the capital building. He was pepper-sprayed. He pepper-sprayed back. He wrestled with police but nothing that could be construed as a violent assault.  Knowing he was not going to go any further, Robert then turned around and left. He then returned home and only 12 days later, the police came knocking at the home he owns with his fiancé, Heather.

After it was known that Robert was wanted by the FBI, he turned himself into the Teller County, Colorado authorities on Jan. 18^th 2021. He was charged with six counts: obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony charge being challenged at the Supreme Court because it is financial crime statute, three counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers while using a dangerous weapon, one count destruction of government property and lastly, one count for entering/remaining in a restricted area.

At arraignment, Robert pled guilty to two federal charges of assaulting or interfering with a federal officer. Each count carries a maximum sentence of up to eight years in prison and a $250,000 fine. In exchange for the guilty pleas, federal prosecutors agreed to dismiss other counts they filed against him.  His trial was scheduled to take place in front of D.C. District Judge Emmett Sullivan

According to his lawyer, Ann Mason Rigby, residents in the District of Columbia feel “victimized” and “targeted” by what happened on Jan. 6, and they are more invested in the outcome of his trial because “they know that the next Jan. 6” would most likely take place in their backyards. Rigby made that point in seeking to change the venue of Robert’s trial.

“Hundreds would say this was an attack on democracy, period, whether you live in D.C. or whether you live in Colorado or whether you live in Hawaii,” Judge Sullivan replied, explaining the government’s position. “So pursuant to your theory everyone in the country would be precluded from presiding over this case. There wouldn’t be a fair locale.” “That is the government’s theory,” Rigby agreed. “It’s not far-fetched,” Sullivan replied then added: “Where in the continental U.S. or Hawaii can Mr. Gieswein get a fair trial, if not D.C.?”  A reasonable person would conclude that anywhere but D.C.

“In a city where a jury will not be made up of people who were directly impacted by Jan. 6,” Rigby started to reply… “But the theory is that everyone in a democratic country is impacted by terrorists storming the Capitol,” interrupted Sullivan, a Clinton appointee. “That is the government’s theory. The argument is this was the worst assault on democracy since the War of 1812.”  Note the language used by Judge Sullivan and judge for yourself if Robert could get a fair trial by this man and a jury biased by the fact that most serve in the Federal government, making many if not all very left leaning.  Both the judge and jury believe in punishing those with whom they disagree politically. 

But there’s another twist in his fate – because of COVID and other delays, he languished for two years before even getting a date for trial, like many J6ers. Fed up, Robert filed a motion to be released from detention while he awaiting trial. In the motion, he wrote a letter to the judge explaining why being incarcerated is not helping, saying; “I am not an expert in anything, but I do know it’s not healthy to spend every day in here like it’s Groundhog’s Day, with people with the same viewpoint, in the same situation, because we are all portrayed by much of the media as one type of person,” he said. “And I am saying nothing against the other men in here. Still, most of us do share a lot of the same views, and it’s easy to get stuck in your bubble in this environment. … Outside, I could choose to seek out other perspectives.”

Despite this well-crafted and reasonable plea, the judge denied his motion. Robert was ordered to remain incarcerated until the outcome of his trial. It’s not known if his ‘time served’ was applied to his sentence, but D.C. judges have been unrelenting with the J6ers and denied most motions of this kind, even though it is standard practice in virtually every jurisdiction in America.  On June 9^th Robert was sentenced to four years on the two counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers. Once out of prison, he will have the added burden of undergoing three years of supervision and pay a $2,000 restitution to the Architect of the Capitol.