A Colorado man was sentenced to 90 days of home detention after telling a judge he is “guilty of being an idiot” for his actions during the January 6 riot in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., the Associated Press reported.
Glenn Wes Lee Croy admonished himself for following the crowd when twice entering the Capitol that day. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell also ordered Croy to spend 14 days in a “community correctional facility,” which is a less stern ruling than a jail or prison term, AP reported.
“I’m not against anything. I love America. I love my children, and I respect law enforcement,” Croy told Howell, who also sentenced him to three years of probation.
The judge told Croy being a “crowd follower” did not exonerate him from repercussions for his actions.
“I do hope that one of the lessons you’ve learned from this is that you do have to think for yourself, not accept what people just tell you is the truth,” she said.
Croy joins the more than 650 people to be charged with federal crimes following the Capitol siege. Among almost 30 rioters who have been sentenced, he was not accused of being violent or damaging property.
Croy believed the presidential election was stolen. But his attorney said he was not trying to prevent the election from being certified as a result of former President Donald Trump‘s baseless claim.
“Now he knows that he was misled by his president,” defense attorney Kira Anne West said.
For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.
Associated Press
In a letter to the judge before his sentencing hearing, Croy said he is “guilty of being an idiot and walking into that building” and has no excuse for joining the mob that stormed the Capitol.
Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of two months in prison for Croy. His attorney requested a sentence of one year of probation with community service.
Howell questioned why a short jail term, without a longer term of court supervision, would be the best way to ensure that Croy “stays on a law-abiding path.”
Croy traipsed through the Capitol “as if it was an amusement park” after seeing police clash with rioters for more than an hour, prosecutors said.
He entered the Capitol twice that day, staying inside for a total of about 30 minutes and later bragged about his actions to friends.
While inside, Croy “treated the Capitol like a vacation: he walked freely around the Capitol, took what he apparently perceived to be fun photos and videos of other rioters dressing statues, and posed for his own photograph by a statue that he later sent to his friends,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing.
Croy, of Colorado Springs, was arrested in February. He pleaded guilty in August to a charge of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building, a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of six months in prison.
Several days before Trump’s Stop the Steal rally in Washington, Croy responded to a tweet by Republican Representative Lauren Boebert, who asked, “Who is going to be in DC on January 6th to stand with President Trump?”
“Fellow Coloradan we will be there,” Croy replied.
Croy went to the Capitol with Terry Lindsey, an Ohio man who also was charged with joining the riot. The case against Lindsey is pending.
