(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Justice Department attorneys have asked a judge to send journalist Stephen Horn to prison for 10 months after he was found guilty of four misdemeanor charges stemming from his reporting of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill uprising.
As Headline USA has reported, Horn, by all accounts, was engaging in purely journalistic activities on Jan. 6. The FBI received a tip from someone that identified Horn as a journalist, and charging documents describe him as acting entirely peacefully.
However, the DOJ argued Wednesday that Horn was little different than protestors who committed violence on Jan. 6.
According to the DOJ, him chanting “USA! USA!” with other protestors disqualified him from being considered a journalist—ignoring the fact that undercover officers also chanted “USA!,” along with urging other protestors to “Go! Go! Go!” and to “Keep going! Keep going!” as they entered the Capitol building.
The DOJ also argued that because Horn separated himself from the rest of the crowd upon entering the Capitol building, that somehow means he’s not a journalist.
“His actions were not consistent with that of a journalist. For example, minutes after he entered the Capitol building, Horn walked down an empty hallway away from the initial influx of rioters storming the Capitol,” the DOJ said.
And even though the U.S. Probation Office calculated that Horn’s misdemeanors merit a zero- to six-month prison sentence, the DOJ urged for 10 months of incarceration, 12 months of supervised release, 60 hours of community service, and $500 in restitution.
“Since January 6, Horn has expressed no remorse for the effect of the riot, nor has he accepted responsibility for his participation,” the DOJ said.
“Accordingly, the nature and the circumstances of this offense establish the clear need for a sentence of ten months of incarceration in this matter.”
Horn said he plans issuing his own sentencing memorandum next week.
The US probation office recommends no incarceration for my J6 misdemeanors
The DOJ, on the other hand, is asking for 10 months in prison
I'll let you know my opinion on this next week pic.twitter.com/DmcBA6j9se
— Stephen Horn (@stephenehorn) January 4, 2024
Prior to his jury trial and conviction last September, the journalist had refused a deal offered by the U.S. government to receive probation in exchange for his guilty plea.
“They wanted me to admit I was there ‘protesting, picketing or demonstrating.’ I was like, ‘Well I can’t really do that because I wasn’t protesting, I wasn’t picketing and I wasn’t parading,’” he told Headline USA in June.
“Obviously, I can’t sign a document saying I did these things when I didn’t.”
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
