WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� A militia group member who communicated with other far-right extremists while they stormed the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Wednesday to five years in prison.
For weeks before the riot, Kentucky electrician Dan Edwin Wilson planned with others to attack the Capitol and stop the peaceful transfer of presidential power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden, according to federal prosecutors.
Wilson told U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich that he regrets entering the Capitol that day but 鈥済ot involved with good intentions.鈥�
鈥淥ur country was in turmoil,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 believe it still is.鈥�
The judge said there is 鈥渘o question" that Wilson intended to interfere with the congressional certification of Biden's 2020 electoral victory over Trump.
鈥淗e's not being punished for what he said that day. His comments are reflexive of his intent,鈥� the judge said.
Prosecutors for Wilson, who pleaded guilty in May to conspiring to impede or injure police officers. He also pleaded guilty to illegally possessing firearms at his home.
Wilson, 48, communicated with members of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group and adherents of the antigovernment Three Percenters movement as he marched to the Capitol. Wilson has identified as an Oath Keeper and as a member of the Gray Ghost Partisan Rangers, a Three Percenter militia, according to prosecutors.
A co-defendant, David Scott Kuntz, has pleaded not guilty to Capitol riot charges and awaits a trial. Kuntz organized a Telegram group called 鈥淐oalition of the Unknown," which included Three Percenters from different militia groups, prosecutors said.
Wilson posted in the group under the username 鈥淟ive Wire.鈥� On Nov. 9, 2020, Wilson wrote to the group, 鈥淚鈥檓 willing to do whatever. Done made up my mind. I understand the tip of the spear will not be easy. I鈥檓 willing to sacrifice myself if necessary. Whether it means prison or death.鈥�
Wilson and Kuntz traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend then-President Donald Trump's 鈥淪top the Steal鈥� rally near the White House on Jan. 6. Defense attorney Norm Pattis said Wilson believed that the presidential election was stolen from Trump.
鈥淢r. Wilson did not plan an insurrection. He appeared at a protest and was swept up in events that turned violent,鈥� .
But prosecutors said Wilson planned with others to use the threat of violence to keep Trump in the White House.
鈥淲ilson is in a rare class. Although he did not commit any acts of violence, his role in preparing for violence and helping to organize a conspiracy makes him particularly dangerous,鈥� Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Mariano wrote.
As he approached the Capitol, Wilson used the Zello app to communicate with other members of a group called 鈥淪TOP THE STEAL J6鈥� and provide them with updates on the erupting riot.
鈥淗ow many patriots do we have pushing through at the Capitol, Live Wire?鈥� another user asked Wilson.
鈥淗ey, pass the word, Badlands, as fast as you can. The people are pushing on the Capitol. We need hands on deck,鈥� Wilson responded.
鈥淗eard, Live Wire. Will send,鈥� the other user replied.
Wilson wore a gas mask as he entered the Capitol through a door on the Upper West Terrace. He took a selfie of himself flashing a Three Percenters hand sign during his roughly 12 minutes inside the building. Photos show him carrying what appeared to be a can of bear spray.
Prosecutors said Wilson "sought out violence and endeavored to organize others to join him in his violent aims.鈥�
鈥淲ilson鈥檚 crime was an attack on not just the Capitol, but the United States and its system of government," Mariano wrote. 鈥淗e joined a mob and struck a blow to a central feature of the American system: the peaceful transfer of power.鈥�
Wilson was arrested in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, on May 2023. Law enforcement seized six firearms and approximately 4,800 rounds of ammunition when they searched his home. Wilson had a criminal record that made it illegal for him to possess the firearms.
More than 1,400 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Approximately 950 of them have been convicted and sentenced, with roughly two-thirds receiving terms of imprisonment ranging from a few days to 22 years.
Michael Kunzelman, The Associated Press
