A man who was convicted of breaching the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has been sentenced to no jail time.
Nicholas Rodean, 29, on Oct. 26 received 60 months of probation and 240 hours of home detention during a sentencing hearing in Washington.
Prosecutors had requested 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release, arguing Rodean’s actions on Jan. 6, including smashing windowpanes and following a U.S. Capitol Police Officer once inside the Capitol, should bring a sentence that “reflects the gravity of Rodean’s conduct.”
An attorney for Rodean said Rodean should serve any sentence at home because of the man’s “history and characteristics.” Those details were redacted in the sentencing memorandum, but were revealed during the hearing to include a diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome.
Asperger’s is an autism spectrum disorder that can impair language and communication skills, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Spending time in jail would be hard for a person with Asperger’s, the judge said, adding that he learned that Rodean was easily influenced by others, prompting him to join the crowd that entered the Capitol.
The sentence was handed down after prosecutors revised their request from 57 months to 21 months but did not detail why.
Rodean, a Maryland resident, apologized during the hearing.
“I was just following everyone else in the Capitol,” he said.
Charles Burnham, representing Rodean, declined to comment.
Rodean was convicted of seven counts, including obstruction of an official proceeding, destruction of government property, and entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds.
Congress was in the midst of holding discussions over Electoral College slates when they halted the proceedings due to the Capitol being breached.
Video footage and photographs showed Rodean, wearing a Donald Trump hat and holding a Trump flag, inside the building near Jacob Chansley, a man with no shirt and wearing horns. Chansley later pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding and was sentenced to 41 months in prison.
Rodean broke two windowpanes near the Capitol’s Senate Wing, according to prosecutors, and pursued Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman up two flights of stairs.
Rodean was among those facing off with officers in a corridor for more than 30 minutes, at one point taking out a hatchet. Rodean put away the weapon per a request from officers and also allowed them to search one of his bags.
He said he was at the Capitol to “stop the steal,” a reference to allegations that the 2020 election was stolen.
Rodean eventually left the building. He was not accused of being violent.
FBI agents received screenshots from social media and statements from acquaintances leading them to Rodean, who turned himself in to authorities.
