A Nevada man jailed on riot charges asked his mother to contact publishers about a book she was writing about the “incident at the Capitol.” A Washington state rioter helped his father buy clothing and other merchandise bearing slogans such as “Our Home” and images of the Capitol building. A Virginia man released a rap album featuring riot-themed songs and a cover photo of him sitting in a police vehicle outside the Capitol on January 6, 2021. These actions sometimes complicate matters for defendants when they face judges at sentencing, as prosecutors point to profit-seeking activities in seeking harsher punishments. The Department of Justice, in some cases, is trying to recover the money rioters took from the riot. In one case, federal authorities seized tens of thousands of dollars from a defendant who had been selling his material since January 6. In another case, a Florida man’s plea agreement allows the US government to collect profits from any book published in the next 5 years. And prosecutors want a Maine man who raised more than $20,000 from supporters to hand over some of the money because he is being represented by a taxpayer-funded public defender. Many rioters have paid a heavy personal price for their actions on January 6. At sentencing, rioters often ask for leniency on the grounds that they have already experienced serious consequences for their crimes. They lost jobs or entire careers. Marriages fell apart. Friends and family shunned them or even reported them to the FBI. Strangers have sent them hate mail and online threats. And they have racked up expensive legal bills to defend themselves against federal charges ranging from misdemeanors to felony charges. Crowdfunding websites and platforms set up to collect donations for those accused of the incidents in Capitol Hill try to portray them as abused patriots or even political prisoners. An anti-vaccine doctor who pleaded guilty to trespassing on Capitol Hill has launched a nonprofit that has raised more than $430,000 for her legal fees. The fundraising appeal by the team of Dr. Simone Gold, America’s Frontline Doctors, did not enter a guilty plea, prosecutors noted. Before sentencing Gold to two months behind bars, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper called it “inappropriate” that her nonprofit invoked the Capitol uprising to raise money that also paid her salary. Prosecutors said in court documents that it “beggars belief” she incurred nearly $430,000 in legal fees in her misdemeanor case. Another rioter, a New Jersey gym owner who punched a police officer during the siege, raised more than $30,000 in online donations for a “Patriot Relief Fund” to cover mortgage payments and other monthly bills. Prosecutors cited the fund in recommending a fine to Scott Fairlamb, who is serving more than three years in prison. “Fairlamb should not be able to ‘capitalize’ on his involvement in the Capitol breach in this way,” Justice Department lawyers wrote. Robert Palmer, a Florida man who attacked police officers on Capitol Hill, asked a friend to set up an online crowdfunding campaign for him after he pleaded guilty. After seeing the “Help Patriot Rob” campaign, a probation officer who was considering a sentencing recommendation for Palmer did not give him credit for accepting responsibility for his behavior. Palmer admitted that a campaign post misrepresented his behavior on Jan. 6. Pleading guilty can help shave months or even years off a sentence. “When you threw the fire extinguisher and the board at the officers, were you acting in self-defense?” asked US District Judge Tanya Chutkan. “No, ma’am, I wasn’t,” Palmer said before the judge sentenced him to more than five years in prison. A group calling itself the Patriot Freedom Project says it has raised more than $1 million in contributions and paid more than $665,000 in grants and legal fees for families of those accused of rioting on Capitol Hill. In April, a New Jersey-based foundation associated with the group filed an IRS application for tax-exempt status. As of early August, an IRS database does not list the foundation as a tax-exempt organization. The Hughes Foundation’s IRS application says its funds will “primarily” benefit families of Jan. 6 defendants, with about 60 percent of the money donated going to foundation activities. The remainder will cover management and fundraising costs, including salaries, he adds. Troublemakers have found other ways to enrich or promote themselves. Jeremy Grace, who was sentenced to three weeks in jail for entering the Capitol, tried to capitalize on his involvement by helping his dad sell T-shirts, baseball caps, water bottles, decals and other gear with phrases like “The our home” and “Back to the Blue” and images of the Capitol, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said Grace’s “audacity” to sell “Back the Blue” paraphernalia is “particularly troubling” because she watched other rioters confront police on January 6. A defense lawyer, however, said Grace did not break any laws or gain by helping his father sell the merchandise. Federal authorities seized more than $62,000 from a bank account belonging to riot defendant John Earl Sullivan, a Utah man who made more than $90,000 from selling the Jan. 6 video to at least six companies. Sullivan’s attorney argued that authorities had no right to seize the money. Richard “Bigo” Barnett, an Arkansas man who was photographed resting his feet on a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office in California, has charged donors $100 for photos of him with his feet on a office while under house arrest. Defense attorney Joseph McBride said prosecutors have “zero reason” to prevent Barnett from raising money for his defense before his December trial. “Unlike the government, Mr. Barnett does not have the American taxpayer footing the bill for his legal case,” McBride wrote in a court filing. Texas real estate agent Jennifer Lee Ryan promoted her business on social media during and after the riot, boasting that she had “become famous.” In messages sent after Jan. 6, Ryan was “considering the business she had to prepare as a result of the publicity she received from joining the mob on Capitol Hill,” prosecutors said in court documents. Prosecutors cited Treniss Evans III’s social media activity in recommending a two-month prison sentence for the Texas man who drank a shot of whiskey in a congressional hearing on Jan. 6. Evans “aggressively used” his presence on Capitol Hill to expand his social media following on Gettr, a social networking site founded by a former Trump adviser, prosecutors wrote ahead of Evans’ scheduled sentencing for next Tuesday, Some rioters are writing books about the mob attack or have released videos they shot during the riot. A unique provision in Adam Johnson’s agreement allows the US government to collect profits from every book published over the next five years. Images of Johnson posing with Pelosi’s podium went viral after the uprising. Prosecutors said they insisted on the order after learning Johnson plans to write a memoir of “some kind.” Ronald Sandlin, a Nevada man accused of assaulting officers near the Senate gallery doors, posted on Facebook that he was “working on a deal with Netflix” to sell footage of riots. Later, in a call from prison, Sandlin told his mother that he had met with right-wing writer and director Dinesh D’Souza and was in touch with podcaster Joe Rogan. He also asked his mom to contact publishers about the book she was writing about the “incident on Capitol Hill,” prosecutors said. “I hope to make it into a movie,” Sandlin wrote in a text message in March 2021. “I’m going to be played by Leonardo DiCaprio,” he wrote, adding a smiley face emoji.
