An actor identified for roles within the animated sequence “Bob’s Burgers” and “Arrested Development” was sentenced Monday to a 12 months and sooner or later in jail for his reference to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol assault.
Jay Johnston, who voiced the position of Jimmy Pesto in “Bob’s Burgers” and performed Officer Taylor on “Arrested Development,” pleaded responsible to a felony depend of interfering with legislation enforcement throughout civil dysfunction in July. His lawyer advised a federal choose he’s been “blacklisted” by Hollywood because the riot.
Actor Jay Johnston attends “The Sarah Silverman Program” introduced by The Paley Heart for Media on Could 2, 2008, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Neilson Barnard, Getty Photographs file)
When his sentence was handed down, Johnston appeared straight forward with a furrowed forehead. His father, brother and fiance attended the listening to and spoke in his help.
Prosecutors mentioned Johnston flew from Los Angeles to Washington the day earlier than the riot, then marched to the Capitol after attending the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6. There, he used a stolen police riot protect to kind a “shield wall” inside a tunnel towards legislation enforcement and took part in a “‘heave-ho’ push” that “pinned and crushed” a police officer towards a door body, they mentioned.
On the high of the federal government’s sentencing memorandum for Johnston, prosecutors hooked up a picture of the actor dressed as “QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley, a rioter sentenced to greater than three years in jail, for Halloween in 2022.
“An 18-month sentence reflects the gravity of Johnston’s conduct, including his spread of disinformation about January 6th and his lack of remorse for participating in the riot,” prosecutors wrote within the memo, searching for a jail sentence of a 12 months and a half for Johnston.
Johnston requested the choose for lower than one 12 months in jail, suggesting that prosecutors persistently overstated his position within the riot as a result of he’s an “acclaimed Hollywood actor.”
“At its core, the government has continued to advance Mr. Johnston’s indictment on a ‘guilty-by-association’ basis, in which it compounds the conduct of others in the proximity of Mr. Johnston with his alleged conduct, rather than maintaining focus on Mr. Johnston’s individualized actions,” Johnston lawyer Stanley Woodward wrote in his sentencing memorandum.
Johnston sought leniency from the choose, asserting that he has been unable to “sustain his livelihood” as an actor since becoming a member of the mob on Jan. 6. He was reportedly fired from Fox’s “Bob’s Burgers” after his presence on the Capitol was confirmed.
Woodward mentioned the actor, whose performing roles additionally included elements in “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” and “Mr. Show with Bob and David,” has labored as a handyman for the final two years.
Along with his jail time period, Johnston should full 40 hours of neighborhood service inside a 12 months of his launch and should pay $2,000 in restitution to the Architect of the Capitol.
Greater than 1,500 rioters have been charged in reference to the Capitol assault.
