A far-right internet personality who goes by the pseudonym\u2002\u201cBaked Alaska\u201d was sentenced\u00a0on Tuesday to two months in prison for unlawfully protesting inside the US Capitol during the January 6, 2021, insurrection.
\nAnthime Gionet, who livestreamed his breach of the Capitol in a nearly 30-minute video to more than 16,000 people, was also ordered to pay a $2,000 fine and $500 in restitution for damage done to the Capitol building by the mob the day of the riot.
\n\u201cYou livestreamed your criminal conduct to thousands of followers hoping they would pay you for your actions,\u201d District Judge Trevor McFadden told Gionet during the nearly two-hour sentencing hearing. \u201cYou were promoting and celebrating what was a national tragedy.\u201d
\n\u201cJanuary 6 was the culmination of a petty crime spree for you,\u201d McFadden said, noting that Gionet was convicted of assaulting a restaurant worker and for tearing down a Hanukkah menorah outside the Arizona state capitol in the month before the insurrection.
\n\u201cYou repeatedly streamed your crimes\u201d McFadden said. \u201cThat is a very troubling vocation, sir.\u201d
\nGionet agreed in July 2022 to plead guilty\u2002to unlawfully protesting at the US Capitol after abandoning a plea agreement earlier that year during a hearing in which\u00a0he proclaimed he was \u201cinnocent.\u201d
\nHis court proceedings were mired in turmoil. He was arrested in January 2021 but never indicted, and it took more than a year for lawyers to reach the plea agreement.
\nGionet also spoke about his court case to his online followers several times before he was sentenced, which McFadden said exemplified his lack of remorse.
\nAfter he pleaded guilty, Gionet\u2019s court case was randomly reassigned to McFadden. That evening, Gionet livestreamed himself celebrating that his case was now being handled by an \u201cawesome judge\u201d that is \u201cpro-Trump.\u201d
\nIn reference to January 6 and\u2002former President Donald Trump,\u00a0Gionet wrote in a\u00a0tweet\u00a0last month: \u201ci can\u2019t believe i\u2019m going to jail for an nft salesman.\u201d
\n\u201cIt is important that you, first and foremost, toe the line and lead by example,\u201d McFadden said on Tuesday, pointing to the thousands of people who watch Gionet online. \u201cYou failed to do that on January 6.\u201d<\/p>\n