Couple escape jail time for their part in the MAGA riot – even though they lied to the feds
A married couple from Missouri was sentenced to home detention and probation today for their participation in the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Business Insider reported today.
Zachary and Kelsey Wilson of Springfield, MO, were ordered by US District Judge Amit Mehta to serve 45 and 30 days in home confinement, respectively, along with two years of probation. Department of Justice prosecutors had recommended two weeks in prison, three years’ probation and $500 in restitution.
“The FBI first learned of Zachary Wilson's participation in the deadly siege from an anonymous tipster who pointed to a Facebook post from Wilson saying he had entered the building,” the report said.
"First ones in !! !!" Wilson commented on a post asking if he went into the Capitol. "First thing we found was [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi's office."
As reported at Raw Story last September, the couple denied having entered the building when interviewed by the FBI at their home 12 days after the riot, Two days after that, Zachary Wilson admitted going in, but continued to lie that his wife had not.
Kelsey Wilson was a first-grade teacher at a private school at the time of the riot. She lost her position not long after her arrest last summer, according to news reports.
At the sentencing hearing, Wilson called the aftermath of the Capitol riot "one of the most life changing things that I will ever go through," adding, "I know what I did on January 6 was wrong. We got caught up in everything that was happening in the last year and got swept up in the crowd," Business Insider reported.
"I'm embarrassed and deeply sorry for my actions that day," she continued. "My family is truly sorry for the embarrassment that we brought on our country, and we will definitely pay for this for the rest of our lives."
Zachary Wilson told the judge that the couple “didn’t have any idea” that the Trump rally would lead to rioting at the Capitol.
"We thought we were just there for the speech, and when he told everybody to march, we were like, okay," Wilson said, referring to Trump. "I really feel stupid, to be honest," he said. When asked why he lied to the FBI about his role in the riot, Wilson replied: "I just panicked."
Mehta then told Wilson that he was "lucky" not to have been charged with an additional count of lying to the FBI. Mehta added this, according to the report:
"Regrettably, you all made the decision to do something that contributed to a transition of power that ultimately was marred by violence, destruction, and death. But he added: "I think you are both decent people. I think you are decent, hardworking Americans who were regrettably caught up in something."
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