Man who stormed Capitol as Princeton student was given a two-month prison sentence

A 22-year-old New Jersey man was sentenced Wednesday to two months in prison for participating as a Princeton University student in the January 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol by a mob loyal to former President Donald. J Trump.

The man, Larry F. Giberson Jr., pleaded guilty in July to civil disorder, a misdemeanor, after federal prosecutors charged him with that crime and several misdemeanors, court records show. According to a federal agent’s affidavit, during the riot, Mr. Giberson cheered on others as they used guns and pepper spray to attack police officers guarding a tunnel and tried unsuccessfully to sing a chant of “Drag ’em out!” among other actions.

The felony charges were dismissed as part of Mr. Giberson’s plea deal, court records show. He was also sentenced to six months of supervised release at home.

Before he was sentenced, Mr. Giberson, of Manahawkin, N.J., expressed remorse in court for what he called his “careless and thoughtless actions.” This is reported by the Associated Press.

“I don’t believe my defining moment was there on the Lower West Terrace,” he said, referring to the part of the Capitol he entered, according to The AP. “Instead, I believe my defining moment is now, standing before you.”

He was sentenced by Judge Carl J. Nichols of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., who was appointed to the federal bench by Mr. Trump. Judge Nichols called Mr. Giberson’s actions “reprehensible” and said the two-month prison sentence was “a break of sorts,” the AP reported.

“I truly believe that his expressions of remorse, overall and even today, are candid and truthful,” the judge said. “That’s important to me.”

The maximum penalty for civil disorder is five years. Prosecutors had argued in court filings for an 11-month prison sentence followed by three years of supervised release. The office declined to comment on Mr. Giberson’s sentence.

Charles Burnham, Mr. Giberson’s attorney, had sought a sentence that did not include prison or supervised release. Mr. Burnham did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mr. Giberson graduated from Princeton in May, Mr. Burnham wrote in a court filing. This was reported by The Daily Princetonian, a student newspaper in July that Mr. Giberson had earned a bachelor’s degree in politics and certificates in values ​​and public life and French.

It is unclear whether Princeton took any action against Mr. Giberson following his arrest. A university spokesperson did not respond to an email inquiry Wednesday.

Mr. Giberson is one of more than 1,100 people charged with crimes stemming from the Capitol riot, amid an ongoing investigation. according to the Ministry of Justice. More than 400 people have been charged with assaulting or obstructing law enforcement authorities.

He was among a group of rioters who resisted a phalanx of officers defending the Capitol at a tunnel entrance on the Lower West Terrace, according to an affidavit filed by a federal agent. As Mr. Giberson sat at the front of the crowd, an officer was briefly crushed between the rioters and the tunnel doors, the affidavit said.

Mr. Giberson had traveled to Washington with his mother that day for the “Stop the Steal” rally after seeing Mr. Trump’s social media post urging his supporters to descend on the city to protest against Congress’s upcoming certification of President Biden as the winner of the 2020 election, court records show.

Mr. Burnham, Mr. Giberson’s lawyer, wrote in a court filing that his client was not motivated to come to Washington because of “membership in radical groups” or a belief in “online conspiracy theories.”

Instead, Mr. Burnham wrote, Mr. Giberson had “reviewed the issues surrounding the 2020 election and concluded that state actors had unconstitutionally interfered with the election process.”

Mr. Giberson and his mother became separated after heading to the Capitol from the rally, court records show. After entering the tunnel and joining the assault on the officers, he waved other rioters in and joined a second round of pushing the officers, the federal agent’s statement said.

Mr. Giberson was seen on publicly available video footage wearing a blue “Make America Great Again” cap on his head and a Trump flag around his neck as he climbed toward the tunnel entrance, the affidavit said.

Federal investigators compared a photo of Mr. Giberson from the day of the riot to images posted on social media and Princeton’s website, as well as to photos from his high school, the affidavit said. He was arrested in March.

There is no record that his mother has been charged in connection with the Capitol riot.