SAN DIEGO — A former longtime Coronado resident was tentatively sentenced to three months in prison Tuesday for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol rampage, an attack that federal prosecutors called "a criminal offense unparalleled in American history."
Prosecutors argued that Jeffrey Alexander Smith, who goes by "Alex," wasn't a mere follower who was swept up in the crowd but an active participant who helped an angry mob breach the Rotunda's east-side doors and then led the insurgents upstairs, where the Senate and House chamber galleries are located, along with several offices.
The U.S. attorney's office for the District of Columbia, citing Smith's "disturbing" actions and lack of remorse, had asked for a sentence of five months — one month short of the maximum allowed under the misdemeanor charge to which he pleaded guilty, parading or demonstrating inside a Capitol building.
However, U.S. District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton said Smith's apology was convincing. The judge handed down a term of three months but deferred the sentence until a hearing set for March 15, when he will hear briefing on whether Smith can legally be given an additional two years of probation.
Defense attorney John Rice said in a sentencing memorandum that Smith, an Army veteran who served in Iraq, came to deeply regret his involvement in the incident upon reflecting on the damage he and others caused to people and property.
"He is ashamed that he took part in a violent incident that attempted to disrupt the peaceful democratic process which has made him so proud to be an American and led him to serve his country on the field of battle," Rice wrote.
Smith, 34, a Coronado native, now lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to be near his two children and works as a plumbing supervisor. But he was living in Coronado in January 2021 when he drove 38 hours across the country to hear then-outgoing President Donald Trump speak at a rally centered around the false claim that the 2020 election was fraudulent.
Smith told FBI agents that he spontaneously joined a crowed of people who then marched to the Capitol.
Investigators were able to piece together a detailed picture of parts of Smith's movements around the building, using camera footage from multiple sources, but other parts remain unaccounted for, according to the prosecution's sentencing memo.
He was able to enter through open doors on the Upper West Terrace. He then climbed to the second floor Rotunda and attempted to open the east-side doors. Moments earlier a group of police officers — including several who were injured — had successfully repelled a mob intent on bursting in and blocked it with a pair of iron benches.
Smith and another rioter moved the benches, but three officers were able to stop Smith from opening the doors. Before the officers could reposition the benches, a crowd in the Rotunda surged toward the door. Smith joined "to assist a growing mass of rioters in overwhelming the officers by sandwiching them against the doors which caused the doors to open from the inside and triggering the first and only major breach point on the east side of the Capitol," prosecutors said.
Smith then gave a fist pump in celebration and led the mob up the stairs to the third level.
"The mob Smith let in included violent members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers who were dressed in full battle gear like they were going to war," prosecutors said, referring to far-right groups that were key orchestrators of the attack.
Later, Smith and a group of rioters faced-off with a line of police officers standing guard outside, with Smith telling them to "stand down" and warning them, "We're getting in there one way or another."
The rioters soon after physically assaulted the officers, but it was unclear from footage of the officers' body-worn cameras whether Smith participated in the violence, prosecutors said.
His attorney argued for a sentence of probation and community service, saying Smith has already be punished by damage to his reputation and probable negative effects on his pending divorce, child-custody battle and aspirations to become a commercial pilot.
Prosecutors noted that Smith had violated the terms that allowed him to remain out of custody while the case has been pending, including a domestic violence arrest in Colorado and several failures to report to Pretrial Services.
A few weeks after his arrest, he was also removed from a flight in Wisconsin for refusing to wear a mask as required. "Smith was so belligerent that the airline had to call in police," but he was not arrested, prosecutors said.
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