WASHINGTON (CN) — A former California police chief was sentenced to 135 months in prison Thursday for his participation in the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, where he brought a hatchet and shouted at Capitol police to “choose a side.”
Alan Hostetter, 59, spent two decades in law enforcement, heading the La Habra Police Department for a year in 2009 before his retirement. He said his experience made it obvious to him that the Capitol riot was a setup — a conspiracy theory that the riot was instigated by underground government agents, not Donald Trump and his supporters.
After working as a yoga instructor, Hostetter turned to leading protests against California’s Covid-19 policies and launching the “American Phoenix Project,” an organization dedicated to spreading claims the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump.
Hostetter, who represented himself at his July bench trial. was convicted on four counts, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, entering restricted grounds with a deadly weapon and disorderly conduct on restricted grounds with a deadly weapon.
He expressed little remorse on Thursday, instead opting to push a wide swath of false claims related to the 2020 election and the Capitol riot, including that the death of Ashli Babbitt, the rioter who was fatally shot by a Capitol police officer, was a "psyop."
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, a Ronald Regan appointee, made clear before passing down the 11 year, 3 month sentence that Hostetter was not being prosecuted for his political beliefs or for spreading conspiracy theories, but for his actions at the Capitol.
“He is not being prosecuted for his speech … he has the right to believe what he wishes and say what he likes under the First Amendment,” Lamberth said. “But it does not allow you to obstruct an official proceeding of Congress and enter a restricted area with a weapon.”
Justice Department prosecutor Anthony Mariano said Hostetter’s preparation — he packed three hatchets, pepper spray, stun batons and tactical gear in the car he drove from California — made his calls for "death to traitors" at the Capitol “deeply disturbing.”
“This defendant’s conduct was that of a terrorist,” Mariano said. “His statements were that of a terrorist.”
Karren Kenney, advisory counsel to Hostetter, defended Hostetter and lauded him as a “patriot, like most of the other people there,” at the Capitol.
Kenney, of Kenney Legal Defense, decried the government’s labeling of Hostetter as a “terrorist” and for comparing his case in their sentencing memorandum to those of Jan. 6 defendants who were convicted of seditious conspiracy, like Oath Keeper founder Steward Rhodes or former Proud Boy leader Enrique Tarrio.
“He didn’t threaten anybody,” Kenney said, noting Hostetter never entered the Capitol building itself.
According to Mariano, Hostetter spent most of his time at the Lower West Terrace, the site of the worst violence of the day where rioters clashed with police officers for hours. There he used a bullhorn to further incite the crowd against the officers holding the line within a tunnel leading into the building.
Mariano noted that this was done by a former police officer and police chief and said that Hostetter’s service “underscores how wrongful he knew his conduct was.”
Justice Department prosecutors initially sought a sentence of 12 years and seven months, saying Hostetter’s repeated references and preparation before the riot for “war” and “revolution” warranted a hefty sentence.
“Hostetter has shown himself to be a man eager to stoke the fires of revolution, and to assume the role of a leader of the revolution he fantasizes is coming,” Mariano wrote. “His delusions of grandeur — to see himself as the main player in a grand conspiracy centered on Jan. 6 — further demonstrate the danger Hostetter poses to the community.”
In the 35 months since the Capitol riot, approximately 1,237 people have been charged in connection to the riot, and about 455 people have received prison sentences for their actions.
The Justice Department’s investigation is still ongoing, with approximately 99 unidentified people who committed violent acts at the Capitol.
Follow @Ryan_Knappy
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
