A Pennsylvania woman who expressed embarrassment for taking part in the Capitol insurrection has been sentenced to one year probation and a $2,000 fine.
Julia Sizer, of Ellwood City, PA, had entered the Capitol in the early moments of the riot, but made it into the building about 20 feet before turning around to leave, according to charging documents. The Justice Department sought 60 days of home detention and three years of probation, arguing that Sizer may have gone further if her way wasn’t blocked.
U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper said that were Sizer to be sentenced to home detention, she would be able to leave home to go to work and take care of her three minor children, according to a news report at Triblive.com. “I don’t view home detention as particularly punitive,” he said, calling it neither fitting nor appropriate.”
Here’s more from the Triblive.com account.
“Cooper asked Sizer why she left (the Capitol) so quickly.
“I turned around because it kind of snapped into my head, ‘What am I doing? This isn’t me,’” Sizer responded.
“She told the court she was sick to her stomach when she left the Capitol that day.
“It wasn’t what I went there for,” Sizer said. “I’m ashamed. I’ve embarrassed myself, my family, my friends.”
“She told the judge that she’s not a political person.
“I don’t want that to define the rest of my life,” Sizer said. “I really am truly sorry for my actions.”
Cooper asked Sizer (who had entered the Capitol at 2:35 p.m.) if she was aware of when Ashli Babbitt was shot by a Capitol police officer that day. Babbitt died later from her injuries.
“She was shot at 2:42,” Cooper said.
“Wow,” Sizer responded.
Cooper noted that five people died during the riot, and since then four officers who responded have taken their own lives.
“I say that to make sure you understand how dangerous it was and how dangerous it could have been if law enforcement hadn’t shown so much restraint,” he said.
Sizer’s attorney, Robert E. Mielnicki, attempted to place the blame for his client’s actions on Donald Trump, according to a report at WUSA9 in Washington D.C.
“Mielnicki said Sizer “has done what she’s supposed to do” for her entire life up until this point. In his sentencing memo, he noted she started her own small business as a nail technician. He described her as remorseful and embarrassed, and said it was his opinion that Trump was to blame for what happened on Jan. 6.
“This is Counsel saying this, not Defendant, but if a wild conspiracy theorist like Donald Trump was never elected, Defendant would have lived the remainder of her life without ever appearing before a judge,” Mielnicki wrote.
You can read the FBI charging documents against Sizer here.
