From the “QAnon Shaman” to “Zip-Tie Guy,” here’s where the rioters are now.
Three years ago, on the steps of the Capitol, tear gas filled the air and a mob of people squared off against security officers, eventually overwhelming them and gaining entry to the Senate floor. It was like something out of a film. But some of the most memorable images captured from the Jan. 6 attack aren’t of the crowds and the chaos that erupted outside, but of the rioters themselves — from the “QAnon Shaman” to the man photographed parading a Confederate flag through the Capitol.
Both of those men, and many other prominent figures that emerged during the insurrection, are among the more than 1,000 people who’ve been arrested and sentenced since. Some of those convictions may now be in jeopardy because the Supreme Court recently decided to hear a case that could determine the scope of a federal obstruction law that’s been used to charge hundreds of rioters — and former president Donald Trump.
We’re keeping a close eye on how these cases proceed. Here’s where they stand so far.
Capitol Riot Arrests
Jacob Chansley
One of the best-known figures of the Capitol riot was Jacob Chansley, who gained notoriety as the “QAnon Shaman.” Chansley, a Navy veteran from Phoenix who also goes by Jake Angeli, stormed the building shirtless, wearing a horned helmet with his face painted in stars and stripes. He was arrested three days later and charged with civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, disorderly conduct in a restricted building, and demonstrating in a Capitol building.
Chansely made headlines the following month when a judge agreed to allow him to transfer to a different jail, one that would accommodate his organic diet. His attorneys argued the dietary requirement was a core part of his religious beliefs in shamanism, and Chansley later appeared in a widely watched 60 Minutes segment.
Speaking from jail, Chansley said his “actions were not an attack” and explained that he was singing in the Capitol in an attempt to create “positive vibrations” and “bring God back into the Senate.” (Prosecutors say that while Chansley was in the Senate chamber, he left a note for former Vice President Mike Pence that read, “It’s only a matter of time, justice is coming.”)
Chansley pleaded guilty in September 2021 and was sentenced to 41 months in prison. He was released early last spring and then attempted to reverse his guilty plea, based on edited video of the riot featured on Tucker Carlson’s show. His request was denied. Even still, the 36-year-old has burst back into the headlines recently by indicating he may run for Congress as a Libertarian in Arizona.
Richard Barnett
You may remember Richard “Bigo” Barnett, of Gravette, Ark., as the man photographed with one foot propped on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk. Prosecutors say Barnett also left a note for Pelosi that included an expletive. It read, “Hey Nancy, Bigo was here, b—.”
Barnett later bragged about breaking into Pelosi’s office to reporters and showed off a piece of mail he said he took from her.
He was arrested two days after the attack and charged with violent entry into the Capitol while armed with a stun gun and theft of government property. Barnett, who had reportedly tried to raise money for his legal fees by selling signed photos of himself in Pelosi’s office, was jailed for nearly four months before he was released to await trial.
The retired firefighter rejected a plea deal and last May was sentenced to 54 months in prison.
Enrique Tarrio
The longest sentence from the Jan. 6 attack was handed down to former Proud Boys leader, Enrique Tarrio. The head of the neofascist group was given 22 years in prison for helping organize the failed coup.
Even though Tarrio wasn’t in D.C. during the riot, prosecutors argued that he led the charge from afar. They pointed to messages he posted online during the attack, including one that commanded Proud Boys swarming the Capitol to “do what must be done,” per the Associated Press. He was slapped with a seditious conspiracy charge for conspiring to “overthrow, put down, or destroy by force.” The charge is rarely invoked, and the AP reports, Tarrio and other rioters were the first to be convicted of it in decades.
“There was a very real possibility we were going to wake up on Jan. 7 in a full-blown constitutional crisis,” prosecutor Conor Mulroe said, with “300 million Americans having no idea who the next president would be or how it would be decided.”
Eric Munchel
The man photographed leaping over a handrail with a handful of plastic zip-ties and a taser in the Senate chamber was identified by authorities as Eric Munchel. “Zip-tie guy,” as he’s come to be known, attended the riot with his mother, Lisa Marie Eisenhart.
In a 2021 interview with The Times of London, Munchel said they wanted to “show that we’re willing to rise up, band together and fight if necessary.” Eisenhart said: “I’d rather die as a 57-year-old woman than live under oppression.”
Both were detained and accused of trespassing, obstruction of an official proceeding, and other charges. During their sentencing hearing, Judge Royce Lamberth said that it was clear that the pair stole the zip ties from a closet inside the Capitol, “because they intended to take senators hostage, if possible. In September 2023, Munchel was sentenced to 57 months, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution. Eisenhart was given 30 months and also ordered to cough up $2,000.
Kevin Seefried
The photos of Kevin Seefried, who was seen holding a Confederate flag while roaming the halls of the Capitol, endure as a startling symbol of the riot.
West Point history professor and author Ty Seidule told us he was particularly struck by one image of Seefried with the Confederate flag waving next to a portrait of the abolitionist Charles Sumner. “Here was that flag of treason by that great American,” Seidule said. “It enraged me.”
Sen. Cory Booker said it illustrated how the Capitol mob was attempting to tear apart the country, just like the Confederacy. “Our democracy is wounded,” he said.
Seefried and his son, Hunter Seefried, who prosecutors say punched out glass from a Capitol window, faced felony riot charges. Hunter was sentenced in October 2022 to two years in prison. Kevin was given three years. He apologized at his sentencing hearing and told the court he made a terrible mistake: “I thought that standing there and using my voice was protected under freedom of speech, but I know I crossed the line.”
“I never wanted to send a message of hate,” he said, per NBC.
Stewart Rhodes
Last May, Stewart Rhodes, the fouder of the far-rigth extremist group Oath Keepers, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for helping orchestrate the attack on the Capitol. Prosecutors painted Rhodes as one of the masterminds behind the Jan. 6 attack. During his trial, they presented haunting messages Rhodes, a Yale law graduate and veteran, sent to his followers, including one where he told Trump supporters to prepare their “mind, body, spirit” for “civil war,” Time reports. Prosecutors also say he encouraged the dozens of Oath Keepers who participated in the insurrection to assemble an arsenal of weapons.
Rhodes, like Tarrio and other leading Oath Keepers, was convicted of seditious conspiracy.
“You, sir, present an ongoing threat and a peril to this country, to the republic and to the very fabric of our democracy,” Judge Amit Mehta said during Rhodes’ sentencing. “You are smart, you are compelling, and you are charismatic. Frankly, that is what makes you dangerous.”
Peter Schwartz
Peter Schwartz was convicted of three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, obstruction, and other charges, and sentenced to more than 14 years in prison last May. The Pennsylvania welder threw a folding chair at Capitol officers and then attacked them with a police-issued “super soaker” canister of pepper spray. After he was charged, Schwartz raised more than $71,000 from an online campaign named “Patriot Pete Political Prisoner in D.C.”
Prosecutors say Schwartz came to the Capitol with his then-wife Shelly Stallings and was armed with a wooden tire knocker. In court, Judge Mehta called him a “soldier against democracy” and said Schwartz’s lengthy sentence was necessary because of his history of violence (he’s had 38 prior convictions dating back to 1991, per CBS) and lack of remorse, The New York Times reports.
Christine Marie Priola
The former Ohio school therapist was photographed at former VP Pence’s desk with a sign that read, “The children cry out for justice.”
After her photo went viral, Christine Marie Priola resigned from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. In a letter released by the district, Priola wrote: “I will be switching paths to expose the global evil of human trafficking and pedophilia, including in our government and children’s agencies.”
She was charged with three federal offenses and released on a $20,000 bond. She pleaded guilty in July 2022 and was sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution to the federal agency that maintains the Capitol complex. After serving nine months, Priola was released early, local outlets report.
Riley June Williams
Riley June Williams, 23, was accused of helping steal a laptop from Pelosi and resisting police. Authorities said Williams filmed someone picking up a computer from the House Speaker’s desk and then shared the video under the username “Riley” on the social media platform Discord.
A tip from an ex-boyfriend led the FBI to Williams. He said Williams planned to send the computer to a “friend in Russia,” who would then sell it to Russia’s foreign intelligence service, according to an affidavit. That plan fell through.
Williams — who prosecutors said was “obsessed” with the far-right influencer Nick Fuentes and part of the white nationalist “Groyper” movement — was placed under house arrest for four months. She was found guilty in November 2022 on six charges, but the jury remained deadlocked on two others (obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting in the theft of government property). Williams was sentenced in March 2023 to three years in prison.
Adam Johnson
Adam Johnson, 38, went viral as “podium guy” after he was photographed carrying Pelosi’s lectern around the Capitol on Jan. 6.
The Florida man reached a plea agreement with prosecutors in November 2021. He pled guilty to entering and remaining in a restricted building, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. As part of the deal, prosecutors agreed to drop charges of theft of government property and violent entry and disorderly conduct, per the Washington Post. Last February, he was sentenced to 75 days in prison.
The plea deal also includes a provision that entitles the government to any profit Johnson would earn in the first five years after the publication of a “potential book” he may write about the incident.
He appeared on NewsNation in Oct. of 2022, saying, “I try to take personal responsibility. I made my own choices.” He added, “There was violence that day. People were assaulting police officers and breaking windows. I’ve always said that those people who did those things should be prosecuted, but there were a handful of people who were simply protesting.”
Johnson said he didn’t have any words for Trump and that the former president is “his own man.”
As for Trump, he said, “I think he does have responsibility to say that January 6 was not a day to celebrate and that there is a peaceful way to have questions and defense.”
Thomas Webster
A retired NYPD cop, who attacked a D.C. officer with a flagpole and then tried to rip off his gas mask, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in September 2022. Videos show Thomas Webster wearing a bulletproof vest and waving a Marine Corps flag and then tackling officer Noah Rathbun to the ground.
At his trial, the former cop claimed that he was trying to help Rathbun. Jurors, who were shown video of the assault, determined Webster had lied on the stand.
“What you did that day, it is really hard to put into words,” Judge Mehta said, addressing Webster, NBC reports. “I still remain shocked every single time I see” recordings of the attack. Mehta elected to enhance Webster’s charge because he was wearing body armor during the riot, which added 30 months to his sentence, ABC reports.
Robert Keith Packer
Robert Keith Packer was photographed at the insurrection wearing a sweatshirt that read “Camp Auschwitz” (a reference to the concentration camps where more than 1 million Jews were killed). The image sparked outrage.
“To see this punk with that shirt on,” Pelosi said during a press conference, “and his anti-semitism that he has bragged about, to be a part of this white supremacist raid on this Capitol requires us to have an after-action review.”
Packer, of Newport News, Va., pleaded guilty last January to a misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. He was sentenced to 75 days in prison.
