WASHINGTON — A far-right streamer facing federal charges for entering the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6 was sentenced Thursday to a month in jail on an unrelated assault case in Arizona.
Tim “Baked Alaska” Gionet was sentenced Thursday to 30 days behind bars for a December 2020 assault on a Scottsdale, Arizona, bouncer. Gionet was found guilty in November of assaulting the man with pepper spray after refusing to leave the bar.
A Scottsdale prosecutor argued Gionet should serve 6 months in jail – the maximum allowable under the misdemeanor charges he was convicted of – as an example both to him and to the extremist following he has cultivated. Gionet is a well-known streamer on the far-right, where he traffics anti-Semitic and white supremacist talking points and frequently associates with white nationalist Nick Fuentes and his “Groyper” movement. Gionet was also a speaker at the 2017 white nationalist “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he joined in the anti-Semitic chants of “You will not replace us.”
On January 6, 2021, Gionet was part of the mob that entered the U.S. Capitol Building during a joint session of Congress. Gionet livestreamed much of his participation in the event. He’s currently facing misdemeanor charges of entering a restricted building and violent entry and disorderly conduct, and the FBI has used his stream to identify dozens of other rioters – including five members of a Texas family who were captured on his video.
In court on Thursday, however, Gionet’s attorney, Zachary Thornley, said it was his client’s first run-in with the law and that prosecutors were trying to punish him for the riot – which happened after the Scottsdale assault and for which Gionet has not been convicted.
Scottsdale City Court Judge James Blake said he had waivered about the appropriate amount of jail time for Gionet, but ultimately decided on 30 days. James said the violent offense Gionet was convicted of convinced him jail was appropriate.
“If that doesn’t convince someone to amend their ways, I’m not sure what else will,” he said.
After the verdict, Gionet posted on Telegram, one of the few social media sites that has not banned him.
“30 days in jail. We are appealing but it could’ve been a lot worse all things considered,” he wrote.
Gionet is also now facing a third set of charges in connection with damage to a Hanukkah display at the Arizona state capitol in December 2020. Gionet has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
His next court appearance in his Capitol riot case was scheduled for a status conference on February 17.
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