WASHINGTON - A federal judge on Monday sentenced a southern Delaware man to two years in prison on charges for his role in storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 to obstruct Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory.
Hunter Seefried, 24, and his father, Kevin Seefried, 53, both of Laurel, Del., were found guilty on June 15, 2022, by U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, who sentenced Hunter Seefried on Monday. Kevin Seefried is to be sentenced on Jan. 20, 2023.
According to the government’s evidence, Hunter and Kevin Seefried attended a rally near the Ellipse on Jan. 6, 2021, and then headed to the U.S. Capitol. They illegally entered the Capitol grounds and joined a crowd of rioters heading up the steps of the building. People near Hunter and Kevin Seefried broke windows with a police shield and a wooden 2-by-4, and Hunter Seefried cleared a large piece of glass from one of those windows to clear the way.
After the glass was broken, the Seefrieds and many others entered the building starting at approximately 2:13 p.m. The Seefrieds were among the first people to enter the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Kevin Seefried was photographed inside the building holding a Confederate flag. While in the building, both defendants were part of a larger group of individuals who verbally confronted several U.S. Capitol Police officers near the entrance to the Senate Chambers.
Hunter and Kevin Seefried were arrested on Jan. 14, 2021, in Delaware. In June of this year, Hunter Seefried and his father were found guilty after a bench trial of the felony offense of obstruction of an official proceeding, and four misdemeanor offenses, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a Capitol Building; disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol Building. Judge McFadden acquitted Hunter Seefried of three other related charges.
Following his prison term, Hunter Seefried will be placed on one year of supervised release. He also must pay $2,000 in restitution.
In the 21 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 880 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 270 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.