A Delaware man who stormed the United States Capitol with his Confederate flag-waving father on January 6, 2021, was sentenced to two years in prison on Monday.
In June, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden convicted Hunter Seefried, 24, and his father of felony and misdemeanour charges. Hunter and Kevin Seefried chose a bench trial, in which their case is decided by a judge, over a jury trial.
On Jan. 6, the father and son travelled from their home in Laurel, Delaware, to Washington to hear Trump speak at the “Stop the Steal” rally. According to reports, they were among the first rioters to approach the building near the Senate Wing Door.
Prosecutors said Hunter Seefried used a gloved fist to clear a large shard of glass in one of the broken windowpanes after witnessing other rioters use a police shield and a wooden plank to break a window. The judge determined that two other rioters had destroyed the window before Seefried cleared it.
Kevin Seefried was photographed carrying a Confederate battle flag inside the Capitol after he and Hunter, then 22, entered through a broken window.
Hunter Seefried’s attorney had requested probation and home detention instead of prison time. In court documents, he stated that his client only went to the Capitol that day because his father pushed him to do so. He also stated that the son had never harmed or threatened anyone at the Capitol.
“Hunter is a decent, hardworking, and caring young man who was misled and became entangled in the unfortunate events of January 6, 2021,” said attorney Edson Bostic in an email. “He is very sorry and wishes he could go back in time and change his behaviour that day.”
Kevin Seefried’s sentencing is set for January. Both men were found guilty of obstructing an official proceeding, the joint session of Congress that day for certifying the Electoral College.
Seefried was also found guilty of misdemeanour charges of disorderly conduct and illegally demonstrating inside the building by the judge. He did, however, clear Hunter Seefried of other misdemeanour charges.
They are among the approximately 900 people charged with federal crimes in connection with the Jan. 6 attack. Over 420 of them have pleaded guilty, the majority to misdemeanour offences.
Approximately 300 Capitol riot defendants have received sentences ranging from probation to ten years in prison.
