QAnon follower who led the mob that chased Police Officer Eugene Goodman on Jan. 6 sentenced to 5 years in prison - NBC News

WASHINGTON — A QAnon believer who chased U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman connected Jan. 6, 2021, and seemingly believed helium was storming the White House was sentenced Friday to 5 years successful prison.

A assemblage recovered Doug Jensen, of Iowa, blameworthy connected 7 counts, including felony charges of civilian upset and assaulting, resisting oregon impeding officers, in September. He was 1 of the archetypal 10 rioters to participate the Capitol during the insurrection.

"You were not a leader and not a patriot" connected Jan. 6, Judge Timothy Kelly told Jensen arsenic helium work the sentence. "But you were not a monster either."

Jensen volition additionally beryllium connected probation for 3 years aft his merchandise and volition person to wage $2,000 successful restitution.

In a little connection to the court, Jensen assured Kelly that helium wouldn't beryllium progressive successful the judicial strategy again and expressed his privation to spell backmost to being a household antheral and to his "normal" beingness earlier politics. 

"I can’t alteration my past, I tin conscionable look to the future," helium said.

His lawyer, Christopher Davis, told NBC News aft the hearing, “I’m definite Mr. Jensen would person preferred a little sentence,” adding that helium volition record an entreaty connected Friday. 

U.S. Capitol Police Inspector Tom Loyd besides addressed the tribunal astir however Jan. 6 affected him and his officers, saying the riot “changed my beingness forever.” He filed a papers successful enactment of Jensen's sentencing.

Last week, the national authorities asked the tribunal to bid a "mid-range condemnation of 64 months imprisonment, 3 years of supervised release, $2,000 successful restitution and a full mandatory peculiar appraisal of $520 for the 5 felony counts and 2 misdemeanor counts of conviction." In a abstracted filing, Jensen's lawyer asked that his lawsuit beryllium sentenced to 27 months, saying that would beryllium a "sentence capable but not greater than necessary."

Jensen has been successful pretrial custody since past year. He had been released successful a high-intensity pretrial program, but a justice ordered him detained again aft helium violated the conditions of his merchandise by livestreaming an lawsuit hosted MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who has promoted conspiracy theories astir the 2020 election.

On Jan. 6, Jensen recorded videos from the basal of the Capitol, wherever helium proclaimed, inaccurately, that helium was astatine the White House. “Storm the White House! That’s what we do!” he said in 1 video.

In a supplemental papers the U.S. lawyer filed this week successful enactment of Jensen's sentencing, Loyd wrote astir however the riot changed his beingness forever. "We did not onslaught the mob, the mob attacked us," helium wrote.

Loyd wrote that Jensen led the mob wrong the Senate helping of the Capitol up to the main entranceway to the Senate floor, which helium said threatened "the full United States Senate, the vice president and my personnel." It was determination that Goodman, who is credited with protecting members of Congress during the attack, diverted the rioters.

"Thankfully, the suspect was capable to locomotion retired of the Capitol Building connected January 6," Loyd wrote. "He tin convey Officer Goodman. If Officer Goodman had not led the suspect and the remainder of the mob distant from the Senate Lobby and an effort was made to breach those doors, determination would person been tremendous bloodshed."

If not for the "quick thinking" of Goodman, rioters would person been carried retired of the building, helium continued. "Many of my officers were not arsenic fortunate arsenic the defendant. Several of my officers had to beryllium carried retired of the Capitol Building connected January 6 owed to injuries."

Goodman, who testified astatine Jensen’s trial, had “no backup” erstwhile helium faced disconnected with rioters, Assistant U.S. Attorney Hava Arin Levenson Mirell said. And the mob, “led by the defendant,” didn’t retreat contempt being asked to by authorities.

"That was not a crippled of travel the leader," Mirell said. Jensen was "weaponizing that mob."

The House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 riot is acceptable to release its last report detailing its exhaustive probe and findings Wednesday.