The ripple effect of the Jan. 6 riot at The Capitol continues reverberating across America. There were so many parties involved and conspiracy theories surrounding that day. However, the U.S. government was quick to investigate and start persecuting those who took part in the riot.
One of the alleged participants was a California police chief turned yoga teacher. The yoga teacher was put on trial on felony charges for his involvement in the riot. During his trial, he made several allegations about conspiracies involving the federal government. However, the court sentenced the former police chief to over 11 years in prison.
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According to prosecutors, Alan Hostetter was just like the leaders of infamous far-right groups like the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys. Hostetter was responsible for organizing Trump supporters from Southern California under the umbrella of a group known as the American Phoenix Project.
Before Jan.6, He had made several speeches clamoring for violence against government officials. In fact, Hostetter drove to D.C. carrying weapons that would be used at the Capitol, including a hatchet he used.
Prosecutors wanted to sentence the former police chief to 151 months in jail. However, Judge Royce C. Lamberth gave Hostetter a 135-month sentence. In court last Thursday, he insisted that the government had come after him because he had shown when he opposed pandemic restrictions.
Hostetter also claimed that Ashli Babbitt, a Trump supporter, was killed on Jan. 6 by the police as she tried to climb into the House chamber through a window. According to him, her death was staged and a psyop.
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Hostetter chose to represent himself at his bench trial. During the trial, he raised similar conspiracy theories. He claimed that government informants and covert operatives manipulated him to participate in the Capitol riots.
Furthermore, Hostetter said his friend Russell Taylor, who accompanied him to D.C., was part of the conspiracy. He also claimed that the riot at the Capitol was orchestrated to make it difficult for republican lawmakers to uncover election fraud.
However, prosecutors had video footage and text messages as evidence against Hostetter. They showed that he advocated for violence against members of Congress before the riot and celebrated the aftermath.
Hostetter gave a speech on Dec. 19 telling a crowd to march on D.C. so members of Congress would fear “people outside the walls are gonna drag us out by our hair and tie us to a … lamp post.”
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Hostetter and Taylor organized protesters online, telling them to drive to D.C. so they could get their weapons into the city. He also delivered another speech on the night of Jan. 5, saying, “People should never forget who did this to us, what they did, and what the ultimate punishment ended up being.”
Judge Lamberth found Hostetter guilty of four felony charges, including obstruction of Congress and bringing a dangerous weapon to the Capitol. His friend Taylor pleaded guilty to conspiring to obstruct Congress. He also testified against Hostetter, saying they aimed to intimidate Congress to challenge.
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