Doug Jensen, Capitol rioter among first in building, sentenced to 60 months in prison
among the first rioters to enter the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced to 60 months in prison, 36 months supervised release and $2,000 of restitution Friday.
Des Moines native Doug Jensen — easily spotted in pictures from the Capitol riot thanks to the “Q” T-shirt he wore that day, an homage to the conspiracist movement QAnon —  addressed the court Friday before the sentence was announced, saying “I can’t change my past, I can just look to the future.” Â
He added that he doesn’t plan to get “involved in the judicial system” again and that he wants to go back to being the “family man I was before I got involved in politics.”
Though U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly did acknowledge mitigating factors — like Jensen’s mental health and dozens of favorable letters submitted to the court by his friends and family — he was not convinced by Jensen’s own plea.
convicted of obstructing an official proceeding and six other criminal charges in September for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.Â
Stay in the conversation on politics:Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter
Who is Doug Jensen:What we know about the Des Moines man convicted for taking part in the Capitol riot
During his trial, prosecutors showed extensive video and photographs of Jensen parading through the Capitol. The jury also heard testimony from law enforcement with whom he clashed in the building.Â
According to testimony and video, Jensen pursued U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman up a staircase inside the building. Goodman later said that the Iowa man encouraged fellow rioters to “keep running” because the officer was just “one person — we’re thousands.”
like some at the Capitol on Jan. 6. The COVID-19 pandemic “did weird things to everyone,” perhaps Jensen more than others, Davis argued, repeatedly calling the Iowa rioter a “confused man.”
“He believed (QAnon),” Davis said. “He honestly believed it … There’s no other explanation for what he did that day.”
Capitol riot arrests:See who’s been charged across the U.S.
Justice Department sought a five-year sentence
The Justice Department sought a 64-month prison term for Jensen, plus three years of supervised release and a $2,000 fine, according to court filings.
“(Jensen) came to Washington, D.C., prepared for violence, and when the day approached, he played a significant role leading the violent crowd past the police line, into the building and through the halls of the Capitol,” prosecutors’ sentencing memo said. The memo described Jensen as “a ringleader during the attack on the U.S. Capitol.”
Arguing the government’s sentencing recommendation, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Allen described Jensen as a “leader” and recalled his self-description as a “poster boy” for the Capitol attack.
U.S. Capitol Police Inspector Thomas Loyd, who testified in Jensen’s September trial, read a statement Friday, earlier submitted to the court,  claiming that, had Goodman not acted that day, Jensen and other rioters would have done far more damage.Â
“If Officer Goodman had not led the Defendant and the rest of the mob away from the Senate Lobby and an attempt was made to breach those doors, there would have been tremendous bloodshed,” Loyd said.
The defense asked for a 27-month sentence, arguing Jensen is an “an uneducated union laborer who became overwhelmed by conspiracy theories.”
Jensen’s attorney told the judge prior to the sentence being handed down that his client had a “childhood of horrors” that began in infancy. “The context of his childhood influenced his belief system,” Jensen’s attorney added.Â
Addressing Jensen directly, Kelly, the judge, said the Iowa man played a “leading role in egging the mob forward” on Jan. 6.
Jan. 6 rioter Doug Jensen, among first to breach Capitol, guilty on seven criminal counts
Inside the courtroom:What we learned in the courtroom for Capitol rioter Doug Jensen’s trial
Defendants who attacked police officers on Jan. 6 have tended to get longer sentences than other rioters. The longest was 10 years given to a retired New York police officer and Marine veteran, Thomas Webster, who attacked and choked an officer.
Federal prosecutors have charged more than 880 people in 48 states with participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, and arrests continue.