A New Jersey man who stole two microphones belonging to Nancy Pelosi and smoked a cigarette in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda was sentenced to 10 days in prison and a year of probation for his role in the Jan. 6 riot.
In federal court in Washington Friday, Robert Petrosh, 52, of Mays Landing, who served as a Marine, was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, and $938 in restitution, and he must return the microphones to the government within 30 days.
Prosecutors dropped four related charges against Petrosh in January after he pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of theft of government property. Still, attorneys for the government described him in court papers as “among the more culpable misdemeanor defendants arising out of the January 6 riot,” noting that he admitted to telling a Capitol Police officer: “Give us Nancy, and we will leave.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Hava Mirell argued he has not showed remorse and told FBI agents after his guilty plea that he “didn’t think it was that big of a deal. ... I mean they are lucky that’s all that happened. I mean they cheated on a (expletive) election.”
Defense attorney Steven Scheffler said Petrosh, who fought in Desert Storm and has three children, regrets taking the microphones and smoking a cigarette in the Rotunda but maintains that the 2020 election was “stolen” and that he was prosecuted in part for his political ideology.
Scheffler said he was also fueled by “crowd-induced adrenaline.”
“He was simply a misdirected tourist with misguided views,” he said.
Investigators zeroed in on Petrosh after he was identified by three tipsters, including one who told authorities that Petrosh’s mother had told her that her son breached the Capitol building on Jan. 6. Another tipster who was a member of an FBI task force said he’d known Petrosh for more than a decade and noticed him in surveillance footage from that day.
FBI agents carried out a search at his home in April 2021, and arrested Petrosh about a week later.
He told authorities that he traveled to Washington with a friend on Jan. 6 and attended the “Stop the Steal” rally on the Ellipse, where he stayed until the conclusion of former President Donald Trump’s speech. He then followed a group of Trump supporters to the Capitol building, where hundreds of people were violently clashing with police. Petrosh walked by officers in riot gear and entered the building on the Senate side.
He can be seen on surveillance footage walking to the area of the building known as the Crypt, where a standoff was underway between a dense crowd and just a handful of Capitol Police officers. Petrosh is seen on the video standing near the front of the group that was pressing toward the officers, who were vastly outnumbered, and pumping his fist when the group progressed forward.
According to court papers, Petrosh told FBI agents that he thought he “was going to die” during the melee in the Crypt and invoked Game of Thrones, referencing the infamous “Battle of the Bastards” scene when Jon Snow is nearly crushed to death by opposing forces.
After the crowd broke through the barricade of officers, Petrosh walked up a flight of stairs to the Rotunda, where he lit a cigarette, then took the two microphones that were perched on a lectern belonging to the office of the House speaker.
He left the Capitol after about 30 minutes.
Three days later, he texted a friend: “Got your souvenir ... Microphone from congress hall.”
