An Idaho man who traveled to Washington in a car loaded with weapons and was photographed dangling from the Senate balcony during the Capitol riot was sentenced Wednesday to 15 months in prison.
Josiah Colt, one of the first rioters to reach the Senate floor on Jan. 6, 2021, later pleaded guilty that year to obstructing Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s White House victory.
Also Wednesday, a man who accompanied Colt to the District of Columbia in a rental car with two pistols, knives, a stun gun, body armor and other gear was sentenced to about three years in prison, according to court records. Las Vegas resident Nathaniel DeGrave, who also entered the Senate gallery, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and assault charges last year.
Both men had agreed to cooperate with investigators as part of their plea deals.
Prosecutors say Colt, DeGrave and a third man, Ronald Sandlin, came to Washington prepared for violence and were intent on stopping lawmakers from certifying the results of the 2020 election as they joined the angry mob storming the Capitol.
On Dec. 31, 2020, the men had discussed in a Facebook chat a plan for “shipping guns” to Sandlin’s home in Tennessee. Days later, Sandlin posted on social media a photo of Colt, who was lying in bed with his eyes closed and holding a handgun, with the caption: “My fellow patriot Josiah Colt sleeping ready for the boogaloo Jan 6th.”