A Missouri man who told a federal judge that “I take full responsibility” for breaching the Capitol in the early minutes of the Jan. 6 riot was sentenced Tuesday to 14 days in prison and fined $500.
Joshua Dressel, 33, of Jefferson County, also must pay $500 restitution for the nearly $2.9 million in losses the government said were sustained in the riot. The sentence, which did not include probation, was handed down by Judge Christopher R. Cooper in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Dressel pleaded guilty in August to parading, demonstrating or picketing in the Capitol building. He faced a maximum penalty of six months in prison and a $5,000 fine. The government had asked for a sentence of 45 days of incarceration followed by three years’ probation, 60 hours of community service and $500 restitution.
In a letter to the judge filed last week, Dressel apologized for his actions.
“I’m aware of the gravity of this day, my actions, and implications it will have on our country,” he wrote. “I was there that day to protest and have my voice heard on election integrity and a hopeful investigation on any irregularities. In hindsight my entrance in the capitol building was regretful, as it wasn’t conducive to change that I was protesting for.
“I do not feel morally justified and I take full accountability for those actions and my involvement. I was not coerced into going into the capitol and I did not get ‘caught up’ in the moment. I take full responsibility for the charge against me and all the decisions I made that day.”
Dressel is the 15th Missouri resident to be sentenced of the 25 who have been charged in connection with the Capitol riot.
Prosecutors said Dressel, from eastern Missouri, traveled to Washington, D.C., in early January 2021 to protest Congress’ certification of the Electoral College vote. After attending former President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6, the government said, Dressel and others gathered on the west side of the Capitol.
Dressel witnessed the chaos and violence against police officers on the West Plaza of the Capitol grounds and watched other rioters topple barricades, climb scaffolding, scale walls and struggle with police, the government said in its sentencing memorandum filed with the court.
He then climbed up overturned metal bike racks to the top of a 10-foot high banister along a staircase that led to the Upper West Terrace and the Capitol building and directed and assisted other rioters in scaling the banister, the document said. After that, he climbed the stairs to the Upper West Terrace outside the Senate Wing Doors, entering about 2:15 p.m. — two minutes after the doors had been breached.
Dressel was in the first wave of protesters who entered the Crypt and clashed with police there, the government said.
“He walked around for about 20 minutes in a variety of different areas within the Capitol, and then he ultimately exited through a broken door about 20 minutes after his initial entry into it.”
Dressel remained on the Capitol grounds until about 4 p.m., the government’s memorandum said. He later deleted videos of the Capitol attack from his cellphone and Facebook account, downplayed his illegal conduct during an interview with FBI agents and “has not sincerely expressed genuine remorse for his conduct on January 6,” the filing said.
Records obtained through a search warrant of Dressel’s Facebook account showed that he had told someone on Facebook Messenger about being in the Capitol that day, the charging documents said.
In one message, posted at 5:45 p.m. on Jan. 6, Dressel said, “First 20 or so to break into the Capitol.” The recipient responded, telling Dressel that “You guys are true patriots!!!!” and that they “should be“ (expletive deleted) proud of yourselves.”
The two then discussed a video Dressel had posted on Facebook that showed him in the Capitol, the document said.
“Just went to show the wife the video of you guys in the capitol,” the person wrote. “I see ya deleted it. Smart move lol.”
Dressel responded: “Lol I’m proud to say I was a voice of reason in there trying to stop the crazy (expletive deleted) and calm things down.”
Dressel was arrested in July 2021 and charged with entering and remaining in a restricted building and grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building and grounds; violent entry and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. All of the charges were misdemeanors.
The government agreed to drop three of the charges in exchange for his guilty plea to the parading count.
Dressel’s sentencing memorandum filed with the court said his time in the Capitol was brief and that while inside, he did not engage in any destructive or violent activity.
During that time, the document said, “Not only did Dressel attempt to clean up some of the debris left on the floor in the Capitol but he took steps to affirmatively hold parts of the crowd back to protect police officers inside the Crypt area and return a stolen police shield to police officers.”
The memorandum included a series of screenshots from Capitol surveillance footage that he says show him picking up discarded water bottles and standing between rioters and police.
“These affirmative acts by Dressel, together with the fact that his presence in the Capitol was brief, evidence the fact that Dressel’s participation in entering the Capitol was a major misstep and one he sought to correct by protecting and assisting the police and by promptly leaving the Capitol building,” the document said.
In his letter to the judge, Dressel said the events and aftermath of Jan. 6 “have dramatically changed my life.”
“I do NOT believe that I’m a victim and I feel disingenuous to speak on how this case and my actions have affected me,” he wrote. Instead, he said, he wanted to focus on how his actions had affected others.
“Unfortunately, the impact of that day and my involvement has left my family, wife, and kids, in a vulnerable spot,” he said. “... My Family has been exposed to the struggles, embarrassment and conflict that has followed.”
His actions have affected friends and those he works with as well, he said.
“The consequences have been felt down to colleagues and mentors that have felt unfair pressure from the situation,” he said. “My clients and contractors have been subject to all the mess that has occurred and the changes that needed to be made to deal with repercussions of those events.”
Dressel said he owns a small company “that cannot run without me” and is the sole provider for his family. A jail sentence, he said, “would most undoubtedly hinder me providing for my four kids and wife.”
The “most unfortunate and personally the hardest” issue to reflect on, Dressel wrote, “is the American people.”
“In our current political landscape, Jan. 6 has done nothing but divide both sides of the (aisle) even more (media and propaganda on both sides didn’t help),” he said. “Not to mention January 6th will more than likely lead to more oversight to American Citizens and possibly loss of liberties. My name is attached to that day and it weighs on me, I do not want to be associated with division and strife.”
He said he worked hard to be a decent man.
“Unfortunately, decency and hard work doesn’t save the soul, or keep me from bad judgments, errors, or wrongs,” he wrote. “I’m flawed, I need grace and forgiveness (much more than the next guy) and I’m thankful through Christ Jesus that I have that.”
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