A Virginia husband and wife who pleaded guilty to entering the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6 were sentenced to serve home detention on Wednesday, according to reports.
Joshua and Jessica Bustle of Bristow, Virginia were charged with illegally entering the Capitol, remaining inside for about 20 minutes, then leaving, according to NBC News. They appeared before U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan on Wednesday afternoon for a sentencing hearing after pleading guilty in June to one misdemeanor count each of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
The charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 6 months in prison, but prosecutors said the couple has already suffered “personal and reputational consequences” as a result of their participation in the riot.
Both were sentenced to two years of probation and 40 hours of community service. Additionally, Joshua Bustle was sentenced to 30 days of home confinement, while Jessica Bundle was sentenced to 60 days. They will begin their sentence after they complete a move to South Carolina.
“I seriously considered putting you in jail,” Judge Hogan said.
Hogan said the Bustles were an unusual case because they did not come to D.C. on Jan. 6 explicitly as supporters of former President Donald Trump, but rather to attend the ‘Health Freedom Rally,’ an anti-vaccination rally in D.C. the same day as the riot.
The pair were seen holding a sign reading “Mandatory Medical Procedures have NO Place in a FREE Society,” in a Facebook post. And surveillance photos captured inside the Capitol, shows Bustle holding another sign reading in part, “VACCINE INJURY is the REAL PANDEMIC,” Wusa9 reports.
Court documents also show several social media posts from Jessica bragging about how she and her husband stormed the Capitol.
“Pence is a traitor. We stormed the capital [sic],” she wrote in a Facebook post on Jan. 6.
Jessica also posted a message on social media saying the election was stolen and that she was proud of the people who entered the Capitol “for standing up.” But she told the judge during Wednesday’s sentencing hearing that she no longer believed that, according to NBC News.
“With the perspective of things that I’ve seen that have taken place, no, your honor, I don’t agree with that,” she said. “The violence and stuff like that I wasn’t aware of, because I didn’t see any of those things going on.”
