Judge sends US Capitol riot police to jail for Mike Lindell’s conspiracy symposium, which violates anti-Internet rules

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The unusual turn of events brings Doug Jensen of Iowa back to prison seven weeks after he was released. He was arrested shortly after the January 6 uprising and was held in prison until July, when a federal judge released him at his home under strict conditions.

These conditions included a ban on using the Internet: keeping Jensen away from the QAnon conspiracy, which he had previously admitted to investigators was the reason he breached the Capitol. But when court officials made their first unannounced visit to check on Jensen at his home last month, they found him in his garage, using a cell phone to broadcast a rights channel.

According to court statements, Jensen admitted to court officials that he also used the phone to broadcast a conspiracy-filled symposium held by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump who has repeatedly pushed the discredited claims and theories against foreigners. countries changing millions of votes to steal the Trump election.

District Judge Timothy Kelly said Thursday in a court hearing that he had released Jensen in July because Jensen claimed he had “turned the corner” and disavowed conspiracy theories.

“But now it is clear that he has not experienced the transformation his lawyer described earlier and that he continues to seek out conspiracy theories that led to his dangerous conduct on Jan. 6,” continued Kelly, who was appointed by Trump in 2017 in the DC district court. “I see no reason to believe he has had the wake-up call he needs.”

The case raises questions about the continuing danger of Capitol riots and right-wing extremists. The Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly warned that these Americans are still being radicalized by conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. Lindell and Trump himself continue to sell these lies, which are flourishing in conservative circles online.

“I think it’s probably a logical inference,” Kelly said, “that there are no conditions to assure Mr. Jensen that it does not pose a danger to the safety of the community.”

The case against Jensen consists of one of the most viral scenes of the attack: U.S. Capitol police officer Goodman cunningly driving Jensen and other riot police from the unattended Senate chamber. Goodman received a gold medal from Congress for saving lives and keeping calm as Jensen and others chased him through the winding Capitol complex.
Prosecutors have charged Jensen with seven federal offenses, including offenses such as carrying a knife to the Capitol compound. He pleaded not guilty and his lawyers claim he never physically attacked Goodman. He has been charged with assaulting or impeding the agent.

At Thursday’s hearing, Jensen’s lawyers asked the judge to impose a brief prison sentence, but not to revoke his bail indefinitely. The lawyer also said Jensen’s attack on conspiracy theories was like an “addiction” or “compulsion,” a comparison the prosecutors rejected.

“At first glance, he looks a little Orwellian. A man sitting in his garage broadcasting the news over the Internet … now the government wants to imprison him,” Jensen’s lawyer Christopher Davis said.

“Orwellian aside,” Davis continued, “he was wrong and he doesn’t deny it.”

This story has been updated with additional details.

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