A Hart County man was sentenced in the District of Columbia after he was convicted of multiple felonies and misdemeanors related to his conduct during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.
“His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Israel James Easterday, 23, of Munfordville, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 30 months in prison, 500 hours of community service and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.
A U.S. District Court jury found Easterday guilty of six felonies and three misdemeanors on Oct. 26, 2023, including civil disorder; two counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon, all felonies.
In addition to the felonies, Easterday was also convicted of three misdemeanor offenses, including disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
According to evidence presented during the trial, Easterday traveled from Kentucky to Washington, D.C., because he was upset about what he perceived as government corruption related to the 2020 presidential election, prosecutors said. He then joined the mob that stormed the Capitol building’s east side while wearing a black beanie with the logo “I ♥ TRUMP” and carrying a Confederate battle flag.
At approximately 2:30 p.m., members of Congress, Senators, and their staffs were still inside the Capitol building and in the process of being evacuated. At that same time, Easterday was among the mob of rioters just outside the Capitol building’s East Rotunda doors as rioters persistently tried to enter the building, using objects like a flagpole, among other items, to smash the windows of those doors, according to prosecutors. A small group of U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officers, with their backs literally against the wall, were all that stood in the rioters’ way.
As one of those USCP officers dealt with another rioter, Easterday blasted the officer in the face with pepper spray at point-blank range, injuring and temporarily incapacitating the officer. A few minutes later, the officer collapsed and temporarily lost consciousness, which enabled another rioter to steal his baton.
Soon thereafter, prosecutors said an unknown rioter handed Easterday a second can of pepper spray, which Easterday, while smiling, indiscriminately sprayed another small group of officers, hitting at least one of them in the face. That officer, too, was temporarily incapacitated and suffered pain for hours.
A few minutes later, the rioters succeeded in breaching the East Rotunda doors. At approximately 2:39 p.m., Easterday illegally entered the Capitol building through those doors and then grabbed multiple other rioters and pulled them into the building with him. From there, Easterday climbed the Gallery Stairs to the Capitol building’s third floor, which he roamed before returning to the East Rotunda doors and exiting at about 2:51 p.m.
FBI agents arrested Easterday on December 8, 2022, in Miami, Florida.
In the 39 months since January 6, 2021, more than 1,385 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including nearly 500 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
(Headline photo: Israel Easterday, courtesy of SeditionTracker.com)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
