WASHINGTON — A federal judge sentenced far-right streamer Anthime “Baked Alaska” Gionet to more than two months in prison Tuesday, saying his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol was the “culmination of a petty crime spree” that began months earlier.
Gionet entered the Capitol twice on Jan. 6 and livestreamed himself inside the building, including his presence inside two offices belonging to U.S. senators. Prosecutors also presented evidence showing Gionet urged others both online and on the grounds to join him in going to the Capitol after learning police had begun employing crowd control against the pro-Trump mob. He was arrested a week after the riot and pleaded guilty in July to one petty misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
Despite the low-level charge, prosecutors asked for U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden to sentence Gionet to 75 days in prison. In a sentencing memo, Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Franks highlighted Gionet’s attempt to raise money from his Jan. 6 livestream and his criminal history. While awaiting trial, Gionet was convicted in two separate, unrelated cases in Arizona, including one stemming from a December 2020 assault in which he pepper sprayed a bar employee after refusing to leave. Gionet was sentenced to 30 days behind bars in that case.
During Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, Franks played a video of Gionet appearing to encourage others on Jan. 6 to head to the Capitol where he believed protesters and police were confronting each other.
“They said it’s going down,” Gionet can be heard in the video. “They said it’s a mace frenzy. Lead the way. I’ll get as many people as I can.”
Gionet’s attorney, Zachary Thornley, asked for a probationary sentence or, in the alternative, 14 days of home detention. In a presentencing memo, Gionet told probation officers he had stopped streaming. Thornley suggested that was part of a pattern of rehabilitation his client was undertaking.
“It is very clear to Mr. Gionet that his behavior needs to be reformed,” Thornley said. “And he has done so.”
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.”
Thornley also attempted to refute the government’s claim that Gionet had re-entered the Capitol after being removed by police, but McFadden pointed out there were time-stamped videos backing up prosecutors’ claims.
McFadden, who was assigned the case after U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan retired, said he believed there were a number of factors that distinguished Gionet from other misdemeanor defendants. He said Gionet entering two separate senate offices showed a “certain brazenness and intentionality” beyond just entering the Capitol and chastised Gionet for attempting to profit off his livestream inside the Capitol.
“I think it’s important your followers and the public in general understand such blatant criminality won’t be tolerated,” McFadden said.
McFadden ultimately sentenced Gionet to 60 days in prison, two years of probation and a $2,000 fine. Gionet will receive credit for five days already served in jail following his initial arrest. He will also have to pay $500 in restitution.
More than 950 defendants have now been charged in connection with the Capitol riot. Of those, nearly 500 have now pleaded guilty to one or more counts, and more than 350 have been sentenced. Gionet joins nearly 200 defendants in receiving at least some time behind bars for their role in the riot.
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