Iowa Father Faces Prison Time For Attacking Capitol With Son

A father from Iowa and his son from neighboring Minnesota bragged on social media about how they were among the first to enter the U.S. Capitol building on January 6th, 2021. Now the two face years in prison and fines for their role in last year's riot in Washington D.C.

We Are Iowa reports that Daryl Johnson of St. Ansgar, Iowa, and his son, 29-year-old Daniel Johnson of Austin, Minnesota, appeared before a court judge this week and entered guilty pleas to civil disorder. According to a probable cause affidavit filed in federal court, the Johnsons were identified by multiple sources including a police officer from St. Ansgar, Iowa who knew the senior Johnson because his father had served as that town's mayor.

An investigation conducted by the FBI turned up videos of the Johnsons rushing the police line as part of the rioting crowd that opened the Capitol rotunda doors, according to We Are Iowa. They also found multiple posts on the Johnson's social media accounts claiming that they were in attendance on January 6th.

We Are Iowa reports that Daryl Johnson claimed on social media that the riot was caused by Antifa and that "I was there! Trump supporters were restraining the Antifa people!" But on Tuesday, the Johnsons admitted in front of a judge that they were the ones that were actually committing the civil disorder inside the Capitol. The two men face a sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine of $20,000.