Infowars' Owen Shroyer Gets 60 Days in Prison for 'Amping Up' Crowd With Patriotic Speech On J6

DOJ argues Owen Shroyer of Infowars never entering the Capitol on Jan 6 is no bar to putting him in prison. Judge agrees; hands down a 60 day sentence. It may have surprised Shroyer to learn the "absence of violent or destructive acts" was "not a mitigating factor" in his case pic.twitter.com/OFJS678DFL

— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) September 12, 2023

🚨🚨🚨 Watch & Share Owen Shroyer’s first press conference following the 60-day sentence handed down to him for exercising his First Amendment God-given right to Free Speech.

🇺🇸Support Owen at https://t.co/Ui00QKNYEh
🇺🇸Support Alex Jones at https://t.co/ece0OXeUmt#Infowars… pic.twitter.com/tflW1VMCmZ

— INFOWARS USA (@InfoWars_tv) September 12, 2023

A judge on Tuesday sentenced InfoWars broadcaster Owen Shroyer — who shadowed his boss and ally Alex Jones onto Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021 — to 60 days in prison for breaching the restricted area.

U.S. District Judge Tim Kelly handed down the sentence after contending that Shroyer, who never entered the Capitol building, played a role in "amping up" the mob at a sensitive moment during the riot. Shroyer's foray onto Capitol grounds came even though Shroyer had been ordered to stay away from the area under a court-sanctioned agreement for disrupting a House impeachment hearing in 2019.

The sentence — half of the Justice Department's call for 120 days in prison — closes a chapter in what all sides agreed was a "unique" prosecution stemming from the mob attack on the Capitol. Shroyer was facing only misdemeanor charges for his conduct that day and pleaded guilty to breaching restricted Capitol grounds earlier this year.

[...] Shroyer pointed out that prosecutors, in seeking his 120-day jail term, focused heavily on his comments in the lead-up to Jan. 6 and his chants of "1776" on the day of the riot. He contended that he was in Washington in his capacity as an opinion journalist for InfoWars. In remarks to Kelly, Shroyer also argued that when he exhorted the crowd that day, he was trying to capture their attention so he could assist Jones in trying to redirect the mob away from the Capitol.

Kelly rejected that contention, saying his review of the video of Shroyer's actions did not appear to show Shroyer making an attempt to play a deescalating role.

Yesterday a man by the name of Owen Shroyer was sentenced to prison for *speech*, not violence, on Jan 6 – for marching around the Capitol, using a bull horn, & shouting things like “1776!” No violence. Didn’t enter the Capitol. That’s it. I don’t know the guy & I have no idea if…

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) September 13, 2023