Oct. 28 (UPI) — Actor Jay Johnston will spend the next year in prison for his role in the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
He previously worked on shows such as Bob’s Burgers, Anchorman, Arrested Development and more.
“It’s a humiliation and a horrible oversight,” Johnston, now 56, stated at his sentencing on Monday while talking about his riot participation before U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee.
He was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day in a federal facility. In addition, Johnston must complete 40 hours community service within a year of his release. He also must pay $2,000 in restitution to the architect of the U.S. Capitol.
Johnston, formerly the voice of Jimmy Pesto on the animated comedy Bob’s Burgers, had pleaded guilty in July to one felony count of civil disorder for allegedly taking part in the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot in 2021.
‘BOB’S BURGER’ star Jay Johnston has been sentenced to one year and a day for his involvement in the January 6th MAGA riot. pic.twitter.com/Y2J6XnOchM— Complex Pop Culture (@ComplexPop) October 28, 2024
Federal prosecutors had wanted an 18 month federal prison sentence. On Monday, the U.S. government argued that, despite the guilty plea, the actor seemingly failed to show remorse. And the judge appeared to agree.
Nichols said he thought Johnston’s statements were “less contrite than many” other January 6 violators who made pleas before him. His participation that day was “problematic,” the judge said.
“Reprehensible, really,” he added.
Stanley Woodward, Johnston’s lawyer, wrote in a sentencing memo filed on Friday that the prosecution had “persistently overstated” his role in the attack “because he is an acclaimed Hollywood actor, and the government is using his status to make a point to the public.”
Investigators alleged that Johnston had been “near the front of the mob” on the west side of the Capitol building in Washington after a re-election campaign rally with then-President Donald Trump near the White House.
Johnston surrendered June 2023 to FBI agents at their Los Angeles field office. Alongside four others, Johnston was indicted by a federal grand jury.
Later in 2021, Johnston’s voiceover job on the Fox network’s Bob’s Burgers was later revived with a different actor. Some of his acting credits include Anchorman with Will Ferrell, Mr. Show, Arrested Development and The Sarah Silverman Program.
The FBI has made more than 1,500 arrests with more than 1,000 convictions related to the violent attack that day. Johnston had been listed as No. 247 on the FBI’s Capitol Violence website.
Prosecutors say Johnston flew across the country the day prior to the riot, traveling from Los Angeles to Washington.
Initially, Johnston had been charged with interfering with law enforcement officers, remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct on those grounds and impeding passage through the Capitol grounds.
He previously had acknowledged his role in the Capitol attack in a text message by attempting to minimize the deadly incident as though it “actually wasn’t” an attack on the Capitol.
“The news has presented it as an attack. It actually wasn’t,” Johnson typed in a text message to an associate. “Thought it kind of turned into that. It was a mess.”
