MAGA-rioting 'Bob's Burgers' star: Feds targeting me because I'm an 'acclaimed actor'

Jay Johnston, the former "Bob's Burgers" actor who pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges related to his participation in the January 6th Capitol riots, pleaded for leniency in court on Friday and argued he was being unfairly targeted.

CBS News' Scott MacFarlane reports that Johnston's attorneys argued that federal prosecutors have "persistently overstated Johnston’s participation at the Capitol" on the grounds that "he is an acclaimed Hollywood actor. The government is using his status to make a point to the public."

Johnston pleaded guilty this year to a single count of obstructing officers during a civil disorder and he faces up to eighteen months in prison for his crimes.

Per MacFarlane, Johnston's attorneys also complained that his actions at the Capitol had harmed his ability to financially support himself.

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"Mr. Johnston has not been able to sustain his livelihood as an actor after his involvement at the Capitol on January 6, 2021 and was subsequently publicly dropped from various projects and has effectively been blacklisted by the film and television industry," they argued.

In their memo outlining why Johnston deserves more than a year in jail, prosecutors argued that he "helped at least 4 other rioters wash their eyes out after being sprayed with OC spray, used a stolen U.S. Capitol Police riot shield to make a 'shield wall' against the police inside the tunnel and participated in 'heave-ho push' against police."

Prosecutors also said that Johnston's actions in the days after the riot were damaging.

"Despite his clear knowledge of, and participation in, the violence used by rioters that day, Johnston sent messages to friends and family in the days after Jan 6th claiming the events at the US Capitol were exaggerated by the media and that it was a 'setup,'" the prosecution argued.