Anthony Nolf, a 38-year-old man from Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, has been handed down a sentence for his involvement in the January 6 Capitol riots. In the proceedings presided over by U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell, Nolf received a three-month prison term, five months home detention as part of 36 months of supervised release, and has been ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution, according to an announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Following his guilty plea on October 20, 2023, to a single felony count of civil disorder, Nolf's sentencing reflects on actions that have disrupted the joint session of Congress intended to certify the electoral votes from the 2020 presidential election. Court documents reveal that after attending the "Stop the Steal" rally, Nolf made his way to the West Plaza of the Capitol where he took an active role in dismantling the metal fencing and later participated in a collective push against the police line within the Lower West Terrace Tunnel, detailed by the DOJ's account of the incident.
The arrest of Nolf occurred on April 5, 2023, led by the FBI's efforts across multiple jurisdictions. The collaboration between the FBI's Baltimore, Washington, and Philadelphia field offices, along with the Capitol and Metropolitan Police Departments, underscore the scale and coordinated effort behind the ongoing investigations into the Capitol breach. As of today, over 1,450 related charges have been filed in connection to the January 6 incident, with over 500 of those charges being for assaulting or impeding law enforcement—a particularly grave felony.
The breadth of the investigation into the January 6 riots mirrors the haunting reality that our nation's institutions were, for a moment, under siege from within. Such an unsettling chapter in American history continues to yield cases like that of Nolf, his sentencing serving as both a conclusion to his own narrative and a reminder of the persisting quest for accountability. The prosecuting bodies, including the Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section along with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of Delaware and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, remain vigilant as this extensive investigation endures.
