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Doug Jensen of Des Moines was convicted by a jury in Washington, D.C., of seven federal charges he faced for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The jury deliberated four hours Friday before finding Jensen guilty of civil disorder, assaulting, resisting or impeding an officer, and other offenses.
More:Jan. 6 rioter Doug Jensen, among first to breach Capitol, guilty on seven criminal counts
What did prosecutors say?
During the week-long trial, prosecutors and officers who defended the Capitol described Jensen as a “leader of the mob” that stormed the building.
“Doug Jensen would not be stopped on Jan. 6 until he got what he came for: to stop the peaceful transfer of power,” prosecutors said in their closing argument.
The prosecution’s case leaned heavily on extensive video and photographs of Jensen parading through the Capitol, along with testimony from several members of law enforcement who clashed with him in the building.
“Jensen was the rioter who would not back down,” prosecutors argued. “If it wasn’t all recorded from at least 10 different angles, it’d be pretty hard to believe.”
More:Who is Doug Jensen? Tracing a QAnon believer’s path to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot
What did Doug Jensen’s lawyer say?
Defense attorney Christopher Davis sought to distinguish between rioters who came “dressed in costume” and those “dressed for battle.”
Davis argued that Jensen, who is expected to be sentenced in December, was one of the former and did not pose a serious threat to the officers he encountered.
Davis said the pandemic “did weird things to everyone” — perhaps Jensen more than others, he argued. He repeatedly described Jensen as “a confused man.”
“He believed (QAnon),” Davis said. “He honestly believed it. … There’s no other explanation for what he did that day.”
As the guilty verdicts were announced, Jensen’s wife, April, quietly cried as she sat in the second row of the courtroom behind him. Jensen blew a kiss to his wife when he came in to receive the verdict and she blew a kiss back when he was on his way out.
In custody before the trial, Jensen remained in custody after the verdicts.
What crimes did Doug Jensen commit?
The most serious charge against Jensen was obstructing an official proceeding, which carries a maximum 20-year sentence, compared with maximum terms of five years for civil disorder or one year for entering restricted grounds or impeding a police officer.
He was found guilty of five felony offenses, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office: “assaulting, resisting, or impeding a law enforcement officer, obstruction of an official proceeding, interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon, and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon.
He also was found guilty of the misdemeanor offenses of disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
More:Officer testifies in Doug Jensen trial: the Des Moines man was a ‘leader of the mob’ in U.S. Capitol riot
How much jail time will Doug Jensen face?
“The felony charges carry a total statutory maximum of 53 years in prison and potential financial penalties. The misdemeanor offenses carry a combined statutory maximum of one year of incarceration and potential financial penalties,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Defendants typically don’t receive maximum sentences allowable under federal guidelines.
Longer sentences so far from Jan. 6 crimes have tended to go to defendants who attacked police officers. The longest was 10 years given to a retired New York police officer and Marine veteran, Thomas Webster, who attacked and choked an officer.
Prosecutors have recommended seven years, two months for Iowan Kyle Young, who pleaded guilty to assaulting, resisting or impeding a police officer. He is set to be sentenced Sept. 27.
More:Read the transcript of Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot suspect Doug Jensen’s FBI interview
Photos and videos of Doug Jensen at the US Capitol, law enforcement interaction were key
The prosecution’s case leaned heavily on extensive video and photographs of Jensen parading through the Capitol, along with testimony from several members of law enforcement who clashed with him in the building.
Capitol police Officer Eugene Goodman — who a reporter’s viral video showed being pursued by Jensen up a Capitol stairway — and other officers who testified in the trial portrayed Jensen as “aggressive, “arrogant,” and at one point, the “leader of the mob.”
Jensen’s pursuit of Goodman “was not a game of follow the leader; that was Officer Goodman in survival mode,” prosecutors said.
Doug Jensen posted photos of himself in D.C. on social media
In a now-deleted Facebook post, Jensen posted a photo of himself standing near the Washington Monument in the same sweatshirt and T-shirt. The T-shirt has an eagle and large Q on the front.
Before Jensen’s Facebook page disappeared, many of Jensen’s posts consisted of images in support of President Donald Trump and QAnon.
He also posted on Twitter a screen grab of him confronting police and tagged two people whose accounts were suspended. In another tweet of a screen grab, he captioned the photo, “Me …”
Jensen also posted a video on TikTok, saying he’s being turned into the “poster boy” for the riots in Washington, D.C., and not to believe the news.
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