WASHINGTON -- A federal judge on Friday sentenced a Delaware man to 30 days in prison on charges for his role in rushing the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 to obstruct Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory.
Jeffrey Schaefer of Milton, Del. pleaded guilty on July 14, 2022 to a charge of Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building. Three additional charges against Schaefer were dropped.
According to court filings, footage from Jan. 6 show Schaefer inside the Capitol building for 28 minutes. He scaled a wall to then enter the building through a broken window. While inside, Schaefer took several photos and videos on his cellphone before exiting through a Senate Wing door.
Schaefer was arrested on January 13, 2022 in Wilmington, Del.
According to live tweets from CBS congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane during Friday's sentencing, Schaefer's defense team criticized former President Donald Trump to support their case.
"Defense says "people who were in power that day haven't had to deal with the same deterrence"", MacFarlane tweets. "Defense says the man who was President that day.. "has clearly suffered no consequences"".
MacFarlane tweeted that in court, Schaefer says his decision to scale the wall was a "stupid decision" and he was trying to "be in the moment" on Jan. 6 and claimed himself to be a "voyeur".
The claims apparently did not sit well with Judge Thomas Hogan, according to MacFarlane, who ultimately sentenced Schafer to 30 days in prison.
Schaeffer must also pay a $2,000 fine and $500 in restitution.
