Jan. 6 defendant who made plans on Facebook for riot sentenced

A Las Vegas man who pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy and assaulting police officers on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison for his role in the assault on the Capitol.

Nathaniel DeGrave, 32 years old, received his sentence at the D.C. District Court. He pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers. 

DeGrave, along with two other co-defendants, Ronald Sandlin and Josiah Colt, began a private Facebook chat in late December to plan their travel to the Capitol on Jan. 6, according to court documents. Sandlin posted that he was going to Washington “to show support for our president and to do my part to stop the steal and stand behind Trump.”

DeGrave posted in the chat, “It’s time the American people rise and stand up for this country. We’re tired of the corruption.”

The three also allegedly discussed shipping guns to Tennessee before meeting there and driving to Washington, D.C.  

They put on protective gear and traveled to the nation’s capital, prosecutors alleged, and said DeGrave also had a can of bear spray and a walkie-talkie with him. His attorney, William Shipley, told the court his intent was to fight ANTIFA.  

There were also guns in the car, but Shipley said DeGrave was not aware of this. 

Prosecutors said the trio then went to the Capitol Complex, unlawfully breached barricades and the Capitol building and then ultimately entered the Senate gallery.  

DeGrave was identified in a video outside the Capitol saying that Congress is “not certifying (Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election) if they know what is good for them.”  

Also, DeGrave was heard talking about assaulting an officer while he was inside the Capitol in a separate video.  

District Judge Dabney Friedrich also sentenced him to 36 months of released supervision and fined him $25,000.  

During the sentencing hearing, DeGrave expressed remorse, saying, “I wish anybody’s lives that I put at risk, I wish I could look them in the eyes and tell them I’m sorry.” 

Colt, DeGrave’s co-defendant, was sentenced Wednesday to 15 months in prison. He apologized to the American people in court, stating that  “my actions were inappropriate, and I beg for forgiveness.