Hunter Seefried sentenced to two years after chasing police officer on Jan. 6 - The Washington Post

Hunter Seefried said helium was profoundly atrocious for and ashamed of his actions, asking himself each time however helium came to enactment “in a time that volition everlastingly correspond a stain connected the quality of our country.”

“I connection my sincerest apology to the country, its schoolchildren, and everyone who saw the worst of maine and everyone connected January 6,” Seefried said. He besides apologized to the courts, authorities and his parents, “who my transgression behaviour has placed successful the spotlight.”

“I commune our state tin recover,” added Seefried, a drywall transportation motortruck operator who said helium is 22, but who prosecutors said was 24.

Seefried was recovered blameworthy with his father, Kevin Seefried, 53 — who paraded with a Confederate emblem successful the gathering — astatine a seat proceedings successful July of obstructing an authoritative proceeding of Congress arsenic lawmakers met to corroborate President Biden’s 2020 predetermination victory. The obstruction complaint is simply a felony and some were besides convicted of trespassing and related misdemeanor offenses. The elder Seefried faces sentencing successful January. Both men are from Laurel, Del.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Benet Kearney requested a 64-month situation word for the younger Seefried, saying helium was 1 of the archetypal fistful of rioters who broke into the gathering aft clearing solid shards from a shattered model astatine the Senate helping door.

Seefried confronted an serviceman inside, and past with his begetter joined a radical of rioters who pursued U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman toward the main entranceway to the Senate chamber.

“Hunter Seefried’s information successful the riot was purposeful, aggressive, and rife with disregard and disrespect for the constabulary officers whose work connected January 6 was to support the Capitol and defender the peaceful modulation of powerfulness during the predetermination certification process,” Kearney and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittany Reed wrote, adding that helium should beryllium sentenced much stiffly than rioters who pleaded blameworthy to the aforesaid discourtesy earlier trial.

Defense lawyer Edson Bostic said Hunter Seefried showed nary hint of ideological information oregon readying for violence, was hardly 21 astatine the clip and was heavy influenced by his father.

“You person a young antheral who for 99 percent of his beingness did things right,” Bostic said. Seefried dropped retired of schoolhouse successful the ninth people but has worked continually since, his lawyer said.

U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden asked wherefore Seefried did not enactment backmost successful the assemblage with his parent and his woman alternatively than assistance pb the mob break-in.

“The crowd, the vigor was conscionable overwhelming. It’s nary excuse,” Seefried said. “I would accidental my father, but I’m aged capable to know.”

McFadden said the men participated successful “a nationalist embarrassment” that injured much than 100 constabulary officers and caused millions of dollars of harm to a “sacred” building. The justice besides called their pursuit of Goodman “humiliating and degrading to everyone who believes successful instrumentality and order” and an “affront to our strategy of government.”

Still, McFadden said helium was precise alert of the younger Seefried’s property and the “impulsiveness attributable to age.”

“I judge you are a bully antheral who messed up badly,” McFadden said, “but I judge you admit you messed up, and that besides is portion of transgression justice.”

He rejected a authorities petition to rise Seefried’s recommended sentencing scope to 57 to 71 months, uncovering that it did not impact “causing oregon threatening wounded to a idiosyncratic oregon harm to spot ‘in bid to obstruct the medication of justice.’” But it did effect successful important interference, McFadden said, ruling retired probation and location confinement arsenic the defence requested.

Seefried “owes a indebtedness to society,” McFadden said. He added that portion this play is nary uncertainty the bleakest of Seefried’s life, helium believes the letters of enactment offered by friends and household of the defendant’s “strong enactment ethic” and that helium has “a batch to connection those astir him” upon release, concluding: “It is up to you.”