After storming the US Capitol building on January 6, 2021, with a knife and a loudspeaker, officials sentenced a Utah man who they claim advocated for violent government destruction to six years in federal prison.
A news release from the United States Attorney’s Office sentenced John Earl Sullivan, 29, to 72 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, and $2,000 in restitution. In November, the court found him guilty of obstruction, trespassing with a dangerous weapon, disruptive conduct, and unauthorized possession of a dangerous weapon.
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Court filings detail the case, including Sullivan’s online activities leading up to the Capitol rioting on Jan. 6, when he donned a ballistic vest, gas mask, and bullhorn. Authorities said Sullivan, a self-described activist, had one goal in mind: to create havoc and destabilize the status quo.
“We will have live updates on the location for tonight’s purge,” Sullivan stated in an Instagram post in the winter of 2020. “Share the message. Let the election purge begin.” On December 30, 2020, Sullivan posted, “Definitely don’t surround his house…” with a photo of Sen. Mitch McConnell.
On January 2, 2021, Sullivan tweeted, “F—The System—Time to Burn It All Down,” accompanied by a still from a TikTok video of him burning an American flag.
At the Capitol that day, he yelled via the bullhorn as he pushed through police barriers, “Get in there—let’s go!” Move, move, move! “Storm that!”
He also boasted, as the throng reached the Capitol, “There are so many people. Let’s go. This is ours. “F— yeah.” “We finished this s—.” We accomplished this together. “F— yes!” “We are all a part of this f—— history,” he said. “Let’s burn this s— down.”
When he arrived at the Upper West Terrace, he proudly raised his palm above his head, whooped, and said, “awesome” and “savage,” after assisting a rioter in scaling a wall, according to court filings.
At 2:15 p.m., he entered the Capitol through a smashed window near the broken Senate Wing Door and wandered around. At one point, he told another rioter, “We gotta get this s— burned,” “It’s our house, m———-,” and “We are getting this s—.”
He boasted about having been in a previous riot and pulled out a Smith & Wesson M&P knife with a 3.74 blade outside the chamber door of the House of Representatives, which was occupied by legislators, personnel, and the press, according to the document.
“Pull that m———— out of this b—-,” he said, according to the documents.
When they were unable to enter the House floor, the crowd, including Sullivan, went to the Speaker’s Lobby, where the evacuation of the House floor was happening. Sullivan informed the mob that he had a knife.
“Go, go. Let’s go.” He exclaimed, “Get that s—!” as the crowd shattered the glass windows of the Speaker’s Lobby. Capitol police fatally shot rioter Ashli Babbitt there after she climbed through. Sullivan later told FBI agents that he was present at the moment and had filmed the encounter, according to court filings.
According to court filings, Sullivan is the leader of Insurgence USA, an organization that organizes protests. According to court filings, Sullivan faced charges of rioting and criminal mischief in Provo, Utah, on July 13, 2020, following a protest on June 30, 2020, that resulted in a shooting and injuries.
In an interview with agents in Washington on January 7, 2021, Sullivan stated that he was in Washington for former President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” demonstration and entered the Capitol building with a ballistic vest and gas mask. He claimed to be an activist and journalist, shooting protests and disturbances, but he lacked press credentials and had no affiliation with journalistic organizations, according to court documents.
At trial, he claimed that he cried out during the recording of the riots to fit in, afraid for his life, according to CBS Washington, D.C. station WUSA.
“Part of blending in is being a neutral observer,” Sullivan told the newspaper. “What is the difference between being a neutral observer and one of them?” It’s all about getting my shot and staying safe.”
In closing arguments, his counsel stated that it would take a “crazy person” to record himself during the riots.
“If a person was going to commit multiple intentional felonies, would that person bring a camera and record everything they were doing for 50 consecutive minutes?” According to the television station, attorney Steven Kiersh made the statement.
According to the network, prosecutors claimed that masquerading as a journalist was a tactic.
In a sentencing memo, family members pleaded with the judge to keep him out of custody. The family described the former Olympic speed skating prospect as a decent man who grew up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, never had a ticket, and lacked any meanness.
“This must be the 10th time I have written this letter to you to show John’s character is very good and that he would cause no trouble for you or anyone else in the future,” his mother, Lisa Sullivan, wrote to Senior U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth, a Ronald Reagan appointee. “He is truly a good young man.”
She stated that her husband had been in the military for 21 years, and both lines of the family have a long history of career servicemen and women.
“The children have respect for servicemen and women because of it,” she went on to say. “They were the only ones, aside from aging veterans, who removed their hats for the parade’s flag passing.”People have discussed it. That level of respect. As a result, my son John would never, and has never, disrespected the police on that or any other occasion. He could not.” It’s not in his family DNA.”
“Please exercise mercy and take a chance on John today,” she went on to say. “He wouldn’t let you down! It would mean the world to our family.”
This guy is a nasty asshole.
According to police sources, NYPD officers are searching for a gangster known as “El Burro”—the donkey—— the Donkey — who shot a woman many times after she rebuffed his handsy approaches at an underground dance party in the Bronx early Monday.
The 20-year-old lady claimed she was partying with friends in the basement of a building on 165th Street around midnight when a man she called “El Burro” offered her a drink and then began dancing with her.
But he went too far, grabbing her buttocks.
According to sources, she shoved him off the dance floor and headed for the bathroom.
The NYPD released video of the guy boogieing down on a crowded dance floor wearing a white cap and jacket.
While freshening up, the victim heard several loud bangs and discovered she had been shot multiple times in the legs, arms, and hand.
Sources added that they heard other party members yelling, “El Burro messed up,” accusing him of being responsible for the shooting.
Reports state that her friends took her to Bronx Care Hospital shortly before 4 a.m., where they treated her for wounds to her left hand, right elbow, right knee, and left leg.
“El Burro” is characterized as a dark-skinned Hispanic male from Venezuela in his mid-20s to early 30s, standing 6-foot-3 and weighing approximately 190 pounds.
