WASHINGTON DC — A man from Jefferson County was sentenced to prison on Thursday after he was convicted on multiple felonies related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Jeffrey Sabol, 53, of Kittredge, was convicted of three felony charges — obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting, federal robbery, and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon and aiding and abetting — after a stipulated bench trial in August 2023. On Thursday, he was sentenced to 63 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release and was ordered to pay $32,165.65 in restitution, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
According to the stipulated facts and court documents about Sabol's case, he traveled from Colorado to Washington, DC with a group of people to attend a Stop the Steal rally and watch former President Donald Trump speak on Jan. 6, 2021, according to the DOJ. Sabol had packed multiple items with him at the recommendation of another person in the group. This included a helmet, a trauma kit, a buck knife, and zip ties, the DOJ reported.
After the rally, the group went toward the U.S. Capitol building and Sabol positioned himself at the front of a line of rioters who were confronting police officers. Just after 2 p.m., Sabol and another person pushed a third person, who was holding a shield, from behind, and the group moved up the stairs and into another line of police.
Sabol slammed into a riot shield that a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer was holding and continued pushing until a U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officer pushed him back, the DOJ said. Sabol fell back on a set of steps.
Later, Sabol moved to the front line of another group of rioters on the west side of the building and pushed against an officer's riot shield and broke through the police line, the DOJ said. The group then entered the south side of West Plaza when police fell back.
The rioters backed the police against a wall and around 2:30 p.m., Sabol saw two rioters try to grab an officer's baton and went to help them. Less than one minute later, Sabol and another person grabbed a MPD officer's helmet visor and tried to pull it away.
Sabol eventually moved to the entrance of the Lower West Terrace Tunnel, where he became part of a mob in the tunnel. Around 3:20 p.m., while he was there, a MPD officer was pulled from the police line into the crowd.
About one hour later, at 4:27 p.m., a MPD officer was standing at the opening of the tunnel when a rioter knocked the officer to the ground and Sabol, who was nearby, ripped the officer's baton away.
"Court documents say that Sabol used such force in wrestling the baton away from the officer's grasp that the officer's torso was lifted off the ground, and Sabol himself fell backward down the steps of the Lower West Terrace," the DOJ said.
Lastly, Sabol helped two rioters drag an officer down the steps to the tunnel and into the mob below, the DOJ said, adding that the rioters beat the officer with a flagpole and baton.
After that day, Sabol deleted messages from his phone and asked another person to delete a video that showed him at the Capitol after he had been pepper-sprayed, the DOJ said. He destroyed his laptop in a microwave oven and dropped his phone in water.
The DOJ said Sabol booked a flight to Switzerland in an attempt to flee consequences in the United States. He was not able to board and instead rented a car and began to drive toward New York. The FBI arrested him there on Jan. 11, 2021 after pulling over a man who was driving erratically. The man, later identified as Sabol, was covered in blood and had lacerations to his thighs and arms. He allegedly told officers that his wounds were self-inflicted and that he was “wanted by the FBI” after “fighting tyranny in the DC Capitol,” according to a federal complaint.
Local
Docs: Colorado man charged in connection to Jan. 6 riots admitted to his participation
He was denied bail in April 2021.
Since Jan. 6, 2021, about 1,350 people have been charged related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol. This includes 486 people who have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. Anybody with a tip can contact 1-800-225-5324 or visit tips.fbi.gov.
Colorado people involved on Jan. 6, 2021 who are facing federal charges or have been sentenced:
- Todd Branden Casey of Denver was arrested on Aug. 30 in Georgetown, Colorado. He faces felony charges of civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, plus multiple misdemeanor charges.
- Jacob Clark of Colorado Springs (previously lived in Trinidad) was arrested in April 2021 on multiple charges in connection to the Jan. 6 riot. He demanded police officers to stand down during the attack. He was sentenced on Oct. 30, 2023 to nearly three years in prison and a year of supervised release.
- Glen Wes Lee Croy, of Colorado Springs, pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing inside the Capitol in August 2021. He was sentenced in November to 90 days of house arrest along with 14 days in a community correctional facility. He called himself an idiot.
- Tyler Earl Ethridge of Colorado Springs was arrested in July 2022 in Denver and faces six federal charges for his participation in the riot. He is a pastor who graduated from Charis Bible College in Woodland Park.
- Robert Gieswein of Woodland Park was arrested and faced multiple charges in January 2021 in connection to the Jan. 6 riot, including assault on an officer "with a spray canister, temporary barrier, and baseball bat," according to his arrest affidavit. He pleaded guilty to a felony charge in early March 2023. He was sentenced to 48 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release.
- Jonathan David Grace of Colorado Springs was arrested on March 30, 2023 on felony and misdemeanor charges. He pleaded guilty on Oct. 24, 2023 to assaulting a law enforcement officer, and was sentenced on Jan. 30, 2024 to 24 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $5,000 in fines and $2,000 in restitution.
- Logan Grover of Erie was charged in April 2021 with disruptive conduct in a restricted building, violent entry and disorderly conduct on capitol grounds, and demonstrating in a capitol building. He pleaded guilty in July 2022. He served in the Army Reserve for nearly 10 years and was deployed to Iraq,according to The Denver Post. He was sentenced to a month of house arrest and two years' probation in February 2023.
- Thomas Patrick Hamner of Peyton was arrested and charged in November 2021. Videos allegedly showed him fighting with Capitol and Metropolitan Police. In September 2022, he was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
- Lisa Ann Homer of Colorado Springs was arrested in November 2021 in Colorado Springs. She faces charges of illegally entering the capitol, disorderly and disruptive conduct on capitol grounds, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a capitol building. She was sentenced to three years' probation, 60 hours of community service, a $5,000 fine and $500 restitution.
- Jennifer Horvath of Colorado Springs was arrested and charged in May 2022 on multiple federal charges. She was located after FBI agents linked her to her boyfriend Glen Wes Lee Croy (listed above), who was also arrested, charged and sentenced for his involvement. She was sentenced in November 2022 to 36 months of probation, including 90 days of home confinement and 14 days at a residential facility, plus a $500 restitution.
- Klete Keller, an Olympian from Colorado Springs, pleaded guilty to obstructing an official proceeding after storming the U.S. Capitol in September 2021. He faces 21 to 27 months in prison. He was sentenced to 6 months of home detention and 3 years’ probation.
- Avery Carter MacCracken of San Miguel County was charged in December 2021 with assaulting officers in the Jan. 6 riot. He was arrested in Norwood on six federal charges. He was captured on videos and in photos fighting with U.S. Capitol Police officers.He pleaded guilty to a felony charge of obstructing a law enforcement officer on Oct. 20, 2023.
- Matthew James Melsen, 34, of Wheat Ridge was arrested on Feb. 28, 2024 in Colorado. He faces the following charges: felony civil disorder and felony assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, as well as misdemeanors including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, impeding passage through the Capitol grounds or buildings, and act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.
- Patrick Montgomery of Douglas County was charged in January 2021 with knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. According to an affidavit for his arrest, federal investigators were tipped off by someone who saw Montgomery in photos from inside the Capitol posted to Facebook. He pleaded not guilty and was convicted on March 20, 2024.
- Daniel Michael Morrissey was charged in federal court in November 2021 for illegally entering the U.S. Capitol. He pleaded guilty to disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds and was sentenced to 45 days of incarceration and 26 months of probation in mid-August.
- Hunter Palm of Colorado Springs was arrested in May 2021 after he allegedly entered U.S. Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office on Jan. 6. He was identified to federal investigators by a family member. He was arrested in May 2021 and indicted the following month. He initially pleaded not guilty to all counts before taking a plea deal. He was sentenced in January 2024 to 36 months of probation.
- Jeffrey Sabol of Jefferson County is accused of dragging a police officer down steps to be beaten by an American flag outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. A federal judge denied him bail in April 2021. After the attack, prosecutors said he tried to fly to Switzerland.
- Justin Schulze, of Colorado Springs, was arrested on Nov. 13, 2023 and faces felony and misdemeanor charges after reportedly storming the U.S. Capitol with hundreds of other Trump supporters.
- Timothy Williams of Trinidad was charged in June 2021 with multiple federal crimes. FBI agents found Williams on videos of the rioters inside the Capitol that day.
- Eric Zeis, of Monument, was arrested on Nov. 13, 2023 and faces felony and misdemeanor charges after reportedly storming the U.S. Capitol with hundreds of other Trump supporters.
