SAN DIEGO — A former longtime Coronado resident was tentatively sentenced to three months in prison Tuesday for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol rampage, an attack that federal prosecutors called "a criminal offense unparalleled in American history."
Prosecutors argued that Jeffrey Alexander Smith, who goes by "Alex," wasn't a mere follower who was swept up in the crowd but an active participant who helped an angry mob breach the Rotunda's east-side doors and then led the insurgents upstairs, where the Senate and House chamber galleries are located, along with several offices.
The U.S. attorney's office for the District of Columbia, citing Smith's "disturbing" actions and lack of remorse, had asked for a sentence of five months — one month short of the maximum allowed under the misdemeanor charge to which he pleaded guilty, parading or demonstrating inside a Capitol building.
