‘Selfish, not patriotic’: Judge sentences Capitol rioter who directed mob with megaphone to 7 years

WASHINGTON (CN) — A Washington state man who used a megaphone to lead a mob of rioters up the U.S. Capitol steps and assault police officers on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced to seven years in prison on Wednesday.

Taylor James Johnatakis, 40, was convicted of seven counts by a jury in November 2023. He represented himself before the court and expressed remorse, asked the jury to accept his apology and requested testifying U.S. Capitol Police officers to forgive him. 

But he struck a different note in the months following his conviction, speaking publicly through letters and interviews while awaiting his sentencing at a D.C. jail, where he repeatedly tried to downplay his actions.

“When I tell you that we did nothing, I mean we did nothing. We touched a gate,” Johnatakis said in a Jan. 9, 2024, interview, posted on YouTube as “DC Gulag & NYC Tunnels ft. Taylor James Johnatakis.”

Senior U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, a Ronald Reagan appointee, decided to follow the sentencing guidelines to reach the 87-month sentence, less than the 108 months the Justice Department requested.

But Lamberth explained that he viewed Johnatakis’ actions as especially serious — describing them as “selfish, not patriotic." Lamberth worried that Johnatakis' post-trial comments meant he had been “play-acting” and trying to mislead the judge and jury. 

Lamberth made a lengthy statement to explain what Johnatakis had been convicted of and why he had to be sentenced for his actions.

“In an angry mob, there are leaders and there are followers. Johnatakis was a leader,” Lamberth said. “He knew what he was doing that day.”

According to the Justice Department in its sentencing memorandum, Johnatakis made his way toward the vanguard of the crowd on the West Front, yelling orders through a megaphone attached to his backpack, before officers were forced to fall back further up the stairs leading toward the Capitol.

Johnatakis led the mob up the stairs before reaching another police line behind a row of metal barricades near the inauguration stage, then under construction. Johnatakis continued using the megaphone, instructing the crowd to lift the barrier up and begin attacking the officers, shouting “Go!” to coordinate the maneuver. 

Once the barricade was lifted, Johnatakis used the barricade to attack officers, at one point grabbing an officer's arm, effectively disarming him and making him vulnerable to further assaults. 

Lamberth said he received over 20 letters from Johnatakis, his family and friends, but noted that few of them seemed to know what Johnatakis did at the Capitol. The judge, who wondered aloud whether Johnatakis misrepresented his actions, said he would order the clerk of court’s office to send copies of his remarks to each letter writer. 

Johnatakis made a brief statement before the court, volleying a series of questions at Lamberth. First, he asked the judge whether the record reflected that he had “repented for his sins.” 

Lamberth, referring to the line of questioning as “gobbledygook,” said Johnatkis was free to make a statement, but he would not answer such questions.

Lamberth made a point to emphasize the dangers of political violence, saying that the Founding Fathers intended for any conflict to be resolved through spirited debate. 

“This cannot become normal; we as a society, as a community and as a country cannot normalize the events of Jan. 6,” the Reagan appointee said. 

At trial, the jury found Johnatakis guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding, interfering with police, civil disorder, entering restricted grounds, disorderly conduct and engaging in physical violence on Capitol grounds. 

In the 38 months since the Capitol riot, more than 1,358 people have been charged for their actions. About 859 people have received sentences, with 497 defendants being sentenced to prison terms.

Follow @Ryan_Knappy

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