Proud Boys member William Chrestman, 51, of Olathe, Kan., is depicted during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol while carrying an ax handle. He was sentenced to 55 months in prison on Friday. File Photo provided by U.S. Dept. of Justice
Jan. 13 (UPI) — Kansas Proud Boys member William Chrestman has drawn a 55-month federal prison sentence for threatening a federal officer while carrying an ax handle during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Chrestman, 51, of Olathe, Kan., must spend another 20 months in prison followed by 36 months of supervised release after spending the past 35 months in federal lockup while awaiting trial and sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly ordered Friday.
He also must pay $2,000 in restitution for contributing to nearly $3 million in damages to the Capitol.
Chrestman pleaded guilty to felony charges of obstructing an official proceeding and threatening a federal officer on Oct. 16.
Court records say he is a member of the Kansas City chapter of the Proud Boys and made plans with other supporters of former President Donald Trump to travel to Washington D.C. to protest certification of the Electoral College’s Jan. 6 vote to make Joe Biden the nation’s president.
Chrestman stayed at a rented home in Arlington, Va., with other Proud Boys members and met with a larger group near the Washington Monument on Jan. 6, according to the Department of Justice. He wore a tactical vest with a gas mask attached and tactical gloves while carrying an ax handle with a flag affixed to it.
Prosecutors said Chrestman and a large group of Proud Boys members then marched up a street to the west side of the Capitol’s grounds and joined a crowd in breaching barricades that were guarded by Capitol Police officers around 1 p.m. Chrestman positioned himself at the front of the breach and urged others to “Go! Go! Go!” past the barricade.
Chrestman unlawfully stayed on the Capital grounds for more than an hour and stood next to a line of Capitol Police officers who were trying to maintain the perimeter while officers positioned behind them fired pepper balls at specific protestors. He threatened the officers while gesturing with the ax handle and said he would “take you’re a… out!” if they continued shooting their nonlethal rounds at protestors, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Chrestman and other Proud Boys members entered the Capitol building through the Senate wing door at about 2:25 and moved about until encountering an internal barrier, which Chrestman helped to block open with the ax handle that he carried, prosecutors said.
The group continued to the Capitol’s visitor center where Chrestman prevented police officers from arresting a rioter and helped block the deployment of barriers within the Capitol.
“We had the cops running” and they “were legitimately scared,” the U.S. Attorney quoted Chrestman as saying.
The FBI’s Washington D.C. and Kansas City field offices investigated the case against Chrestman.