They pushed through barriers and used makeshift weapons to try to break through police lines. They punched officers and dragged them into violent crowds. They hurled threats and posed for joking pictures with statues.
All told, at least 20 Coloradans had been charged with breaking the law during the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol as of Monday, when President Donald Trump’s sweeping pardon and executive order effectively wiped the slate clean for participants.
At least six Coloradans were sentenced to a year or more in federal prison for their actions. It’s unknown how many were still serving their sentences before the pardon, but many were sentenced recently enough that they were likely still in prison until Trump’s order.
Those sentenced to prison time include Jeffrey Sabol of Jefferson County, who attempted to flee to Switzerland after the riot. Sabol was accused of assaulting a police officer who was trying to defend the building, punching the man and pulling him into the crowd, where he was beaten further. In 2023, Sabol was convicted of three felonies and sentenced to more than five years incarceration.
Robert Gieswein of Woodland Park was one of the first to enter the Capitol building, according to prosecutors, and used some kind of aerosol irritant, like bear spray, on police officers multiple times during the riot. In June, 2023, he was sentenced to four years in prison.
Jacob Travis Clark of Trinidad was sentenced to 33 months for Engaging in Physical Violence in a Restricted Building or Grounds. He was convicted of threatening and confronting officers at multiple locations inside the Capitol.
Hundreds of hours of video helped investigators identify riot participants. Hunter Palm was spotted in a crowd that burst into former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, shouting about killing her. A year ago he was sentenced to probation for his actions.
Others were undone by the images they themselves took. Glen Wes Lee Croy of Colorado Springs posted photos of himself standing next to a statue of Lincoln on Facebook and filmed his girlfriend, Jennifer Horvath, dressing up a bust of Winston Churchill. During his sentencing Croy called himself an “idiot” for entering the Capitol.
Like Croy, not all of the Coloradans arrested were convicted of violent crimes.
Klete Keller, a former two-time Olympic gold medal swimmer, took a plea deal and was sentenced to six months of home detention for entering the Capitol. Keller, who stands 6’6” tall, was first identified in photos by a website that covers competitive swimming.
Rebecca Lavrenz, a bed and breakfast owner from Falcon, became a cause celeb in some conservative circles for fighting her charges all the way through a jury trial. Lavrenz, who adopted the moniker ‘J6 praying grandma,’ was convicted on four federal misdemeanors for entering the Capitol after rioters broke in.
She was serving probation at the time of the pardon and had been allowed by a judge to travel to D.C. for the inauguration.
