Militia group member sentenced to 5 years in prison for Capitol riot plot

WASHINGTON (AP) — A militia group member who communicated with other far-right extremists while they stormed the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Wednesday to five years in prison.

For weeks before the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, Kentucky electrician Dan Edwin Wilson planned with others to attack the Capitol and stop the peaceful transfer of presidential power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden, according to federal prosecutors.

Wilson told U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich that he regrets entering the Capitol that day but “got involved with good intentions.”

“Our country was in turmoil,” he said. “I believe it still is.”

The judge said there is “no question” that Wilson intended to interfere with the congressional certification of Biden’s 2020 electoral victory over Trump.

“He’s not being punished for what he said that day. His comments are reflexive of his intent,” the judge said.

Prosecutors recommended a five-year prison sentence for Wilson, who pleaded guilty in May to conspiring to impede or injure police officers. He also pleaded guilty to illegally possessing firearms at his home.

Wilson, 48, communicated with members of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group and adherents of the antigovernment Three Percenters movement as he marched to the Capitol. Wilson has identified as an Oath Keeper and as a member of the Gray Ghost Partisan Rangers, a Three Percenter militia, according to prosecutors.

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A co-defendant, David Scott Kuntz, has pleaded not guilty to Capitol riot charges and awaits a trial. Kuntz organized a Telegram group called “Coalition of the Unknown,” which included Three Percenters from different militia groups, prosecutors said.

Wilson posted in the group under the username “Live Wire.” On Nov. 9, 2020, Wilson wrote to the group, “I’m willing to do whatever. Done made up my mind. I understand the tip of the spear will not be easy. I’m willing to sacrifice myself if necessary. Whether it means prison or death.”

Wilson and Kuntz traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend then-President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House on Jan. 6. Defense attorney Norm Pattis said Wilson believed that the presidential election was stolen from Trump.

“Mr. Wilson did not plan an insurrection. He appeared at a protest and was swept up in events that turned violent,” Pattis wrote.

But prosecutors said Wilson planned with others to use the threat of violence to keep Trump in the White House.

“Wilson is in a rare class. Although he did not commit any acts of violence, his role in preparing for violence and helping to organize a conspiracy makes him particularly dangerous,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Mariano wrote.

As he approached the Capitol, Wilson used the Zello app to communicate with other members of a group called “STOP THE STEAL J6” and provide them with updates on the erupting riot.

“How many patriots do we have pushing through at the Capitol, Live Wire?” another user asked Wilson.

“Hey, pass the word, Badlands, as fast as you can. The people are pushing on the Capitol. We need hands on deck,” Wilson responded.

“Heard, Live Wire. Will send,” the other user replied.

Wilson wore a gas mask as he entered the Capitol through a door on the Upper West Terrace. He took a selfie of himself flashing a Three Percenters hand sign during his roughly 12 minutes inside the building. Photos show him carrying what appeared to be a can of bear spray.

Prosecutors said Wilson “sought out violence and endeavored to organize others to join him in his violent aims.”

“Wilson’s crime was an attack on not just the Capitol, but the United States and its system of government,” Mariano wrote. “He joined a mob and struck a blow to a central feature of the American system: the peaceful transfer of power.”

Wilson was arrested in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, on May 2023. Law enforcement seized six firearms and approximately 4,800 rounds of ammunition when they searched his home. Wilson had a criminal record that made it illegal for him to possess the firearms.

More than 1,400 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Approximately 950 of them have been convicted and sentenced, with roughly two-thirds receiving terms of imprisonment ranging from a few days to 22 years.