WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors will seek the maximum prison term allowed by law this week for a Texas man who mounted an unsuccessful bid for Congress after his conviction for participating in the Capitol riot.
Ryan Zink, 35, was convicted by a jury in September 2023 of a felony count of obstruction of an official proceeding and two misdemeanors for joining the mob on the east side of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. The Justice Department agreed to dismiss the obstruction charge in August following the Supreme Court’s ruling narrowing its use.
Despite no longer facing a felony charge, prosecutors said in a memo filed Friday that Zink should serve two years in prison and pay $500 in restitution, saying he has never expressed remorse for his conduct and has continued to “falsely portray himself as a victim.” If granted, the sentence would be the longest handed down to any misdemeanor Jan. 6 defendant to date and would require a judge to “stack” consecutive one-year sentences – one for each misdemeanor conviction. Although prosecutors have occasionally requested consecutive sentences in Jan. 6 cases, judges have largely rejected those requests.
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In their memo, prosecutors said Zink’s conduct warranted the maximum prison term on both counts. While part of the mob on Jan. 6, they said, he rushed through Capitol grounds yelling, “We knocked down the gate!”, “We want Trump!” and “We’re about to bum rush this s***!” Afterward, he commented on Facebook “they are trying to charge us with sedition they will have to kill me im [sic] not coming quietly.”
A day later, prosecutors said, he messaged another Facebook user, “I’m afraid the time for rioting is over better clean those guns and invest in some level 4 armor.”
Ziink is the son of Arizona Republican congressional candidate Jeff Zink, who is currently running for election in Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District. Zink’s father previously won the Republican nomination for the same U.S. House seat in the 2022 election, but ultimately lost to Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego. The elder Zink, who spoke on his son’s behalf during a “Justice for J6” rally in D.C. in September 2021, was also at the Capitol but has not been charged.
Following his conviction, Zink himself mounted an unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination to represent Texas’ 19th Congressional District. His campaign website, which is still live, describes himself and others arrested in connection with the riot as “political prisoners.” Incumbent U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX) easily won re-nomination in the Texas Republican primary in March, with Zink taking roughly 3% of the vote.
In their memo, prosecutors said Zink’s congressional campaign was simply an extension of his continued efforts to portray himself as a victim.
“His lack of remorse, portrayal of the January 6 prosecutions as politically motivated, and denials of guilt continue in an ongoing torrent,” prosecutors wrote.
As recently as Sunday, Zink posted on the social media website X, formerly Twitter, that he was completely peaceful on Jan. 6 and “protected police officers.”
Zink was represented at trial by attorneys John Pierce and Roger Roots. In the defense sentencing memo filed Friday, Roots argued Zink had been acting as a reporter on Jan. 6 by recording events and had been accused of “guilty viewing.” According to charging documents, at the time of his arrest in February 2021 Zink was the owner of a pressure-washing business in Lubbock, Texas. The defense sentencing memo seeks a downward departure to a sentence of no prison time, no restitution and a $50 fine.
Zink was scheduled to be sentenced Friday via Zoom by D.C. District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg. He will receive credit toward any prison sentence for approximately 6 weeks spent in pre-trial detention following his arrest in February 2021.