Two local men who pleaded guilty to participating in the Capitol protests on January 6, 2021, were sentenced in federal court on July 14 for “parading” in the Capitol.
Kevin Sam Blakely, 55, of McKinney, and Kerry Wayne Persick, 41, of Dallas suburb Trophy Club, both of whom agreed to plea bargains, appeared in federal court.
Investigators charged Blakely after using cell phone data to pinpoint his location in the Capitol during the protest. Authorities also discovered Blakely’s images and photos posted on social media that confirmed his presence.
Judge Emmet G. Sullivan sentenced Blakely to 120 days in jail, 18 months probation, and $500 in restitution for “parading, demonstrating, or picketing” in a Capitol building.
As part of the plea agreement, Blakely’s three additional charges of entering restricted grounds without lawful authority, engaging in violent or disruptive conduct on restricted grounds, and violent and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds were dismissed.
Persick appeared before Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell, who sentenced him to 36 months of probation, 90 days of home detention, a $5,000 fine, and $500 in restitution for ‘parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.’
As with Blakely, three additional charges brought against Persick were dropped as part of the plea deal.
January 6 has widely been called an “insurrection,” yet thus far, no one has even been charged with “rebellion or insurrection.”
Congressman Troy Nehls has been vocal about what happened on January 6.
“We saw the total breakdown of Capitol security, allowing hundreds of protestors to infiltrate the building,” said Congressman Nehls in a statement. “Nancy Pelosi had every chance to impartially investigate the security failures of the day, but she didn’t. Instead, she used the hyper-partisan January 6 commission as a weapon against President Trump and chose to take no responsibility for her failures to protect the Capitol grounds.”
The Congressman went on to ask some questions that have been left unanswered by leadership.
“Why did Capitol Police not act on their intelligence findings on the days leading up to January 6th? Why was the deployment of the National Guard delayed? Why has this sham of a Congressional committee not investigated Ray Epps?”
Recently, even U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez suggested protesters did not break in.
In a video, she said, “There were actual officers working with this, and we never got to the bottom of that, and we never got any answers about that. […] I have no idea what happened to the people on the inside, who were very clearly sympathetic with what was going on and opening the doors wide open for that.”
She further expanded on her doubts surrounding the events of January 6 in a later series of tweets.
Remember how there was tons of footage and evidence of officers & others inside on 1/6 supporting insurrectionists, but then everyone decided it was too politically risky to investigate thoroughly so they brushed under the rug and now we still have no idea who or what is safe? https://t.co/eL8BZaANha
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 14, 2022
