Bob’s Burgers Actor Jay Johnston Sentenced to 1 Year in Jail for Role in Jan. 6 Insurrection

Jay Johnston, a writer and actor who starred in Bob’s Burgers, Anchorman and Arrested Development, has been sentenced to one year and one day in jail for his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riots.

Johnston, 55, was sentenced in court on Monday, Oct. 28, after pleading guilty in July to one felony count of civil disorder for obstructing the police during the attacks, the United States District of Columbia attorney’s office stated in a press release. 

He was also sentenced to 24 months of supervised release and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution. 

Johnston was arrested and charged in connection with the riots on June 7, 2023. At the time, he faced several other misdemeanors, including unlawful trespassing and attempting to disrupt government business, according to a federal warrant previously obtained by PEOPLE.

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Johnston’s attorney Stanley Woodward wrote in a court memo ahead of his sentencing on Oct. 25, that his involvement in the Jan. 6 riots had been “overstated” by the government “because he is an acclaimed Hollywood actor” and that he had “been blacklisted by Hollywood.” He asked that Johnston’s sentence be reduced to 4-10 months. 

However, prosecutors argued in court on Monday that Johnston showed a lack of remorse over his actions as a photo was shared of him allegedly dressed as Jan. 6 rioter Jacob ‘QAnon Shaman’ Chansley at a Halloween party in 2023, per NBC News. 

Per the USADC release, court documents note that on Jan. 6, 2021, Johnston allegedly joined a mob of rioters as they gathered at the Lower West Plaza of the U.S. Capitol building in an area known as the “Tunnel” — the site where “the most violent attacks against law enforcement” were carried out by the rioters.

At around 2:00 p.m. local time that day, Johnston was seen filming the events on his cell phone as he stood with the crowd behind a row of police barricades, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. After 40 minutes as the rioters removed the barricades, he allegedly made his way to the U.S. Capitol building through the Lower West Terrace and onto the Inaugural Stage.

The release further alleges that Johnston made it past the rioters and reached the entrance to the Tunnel at approximately 3:03 p.m., where he “made a series of hand gestures, including pounding his fists together and pointing, appearing to encourage rioters to enter the tunnel.” Johnston exited the Tunnel at around 3:13 p.m.

Before his sentence was handed in court on Monday, Johnston briefly told the court that his role in the Jan. 6 attacks was “reprehensible,” per ABC News.