NC man sentenced for ‘egregious behavior’ breaching the Capitol during Jan. 6 riots
A 36-year-old North Carolina man was sentenced to five months in prison Tuesday for his “egregious behavior” in helping breach the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riots, federal prosecutors said.
Waynesville resident Lewis Easton Cantwell used his cellphone to record fellow rioters attacking law enforcement officers and yelled, “Get the door open!” as he stood with others at an entrance to the Capitol, according to court documents.
Cantwell was part of the mob shown “rocking back and forth while others chanted ‘heave ho’ as they pushed against police,” according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.
“Fresh patriots to the front,” he also yelled to other rioters, prosecutors said.
Flagpole shoved toward officers
On March 24, Cantwell pleaded guilty to obstructing, impeding, or interfering with law enforcement officers during the commission of civil disorder.
Prosecutors said he also helped shove a flagpole toward the Lower West Terrace tunnel, where police were hit and injured by objects.
Sometime between 2:15 p.m. and 2:40 p.m., he filmed himself saying, “We’ve essentially stormed the Capitol building … We’re tired of the bulls---,” court records show.
”Liberty or death,” he said in another video that afternoon, according to court documents.
He told the FBI he helps people
Cantwell stayed in the Lower West Terrace tunnel from 2:40 p.m. until about 3:20 p.m., when police briefly pushed rioters from the tunnel, and then remained on the Lower West Terrance until at least 4:18 p.m., prosecutors said.
When the FBI interviewed him, Cantwell claimed he went to the doors of the Capitol to “help” people, court filings show.
On Facebook, he contended that he helped people, including protesters, that no major damage resulted from the Capitol breach and that he treated people “with love and respect,” according to court documents.
Cantwell showed no remorse for his actions, prosecutors said.
Cantwell, who ran a tea shop in Sylva, previously said he went to the capitol with the father of his girlfriend and some others from small Western N.C. towns, but only to attend the rally earlier that day supporting then President Donald Trump.
His lead defense attorney, Nic Cocis from California, didn’t reply to a request for comment from The Charlotte Observer Tuesday.
A federal judge in the District of Columbia on Tuesday also ordered Cantwell to serve three years of supervised release once he’s out of prison and pay $2,000 in restitution.
25 NC residents charged
Cantwell is among at least 25 N.C. residents charged in connection with the riot, during which thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol to block congressional certification of Trump’s defeat to Joe Biden.
More than 900 arrests have been made.
At least eight North Carolinians have pleaded guilty to felony charges. One has been sentenced. Former Fort Bragg soldier James Mault received 44 months after being caught on camera outside the Capitol repeatedly attacking police with chemical spray.