A man from North Carolina has been sentenced to prison for his involvement in the January 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol. Nathan Baer, an Asheville resident, received a sentence of four months in prison, 24 months of supervised release with the initial four months to be served under home detention, and was ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution, following a guilty plea to a single felony charge of obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder.

During the chaos that unfolded at the Capitol, Baer was pinpointed near the entrance to a critical access point known as the Tunnel. At this location, many of the intense confrontations with law enforcement took place, Baer engaged with the frontline of rioters, pushing against them as they made reciprocal advances against the police barricade that stood before the Capitol’s doors, at one point leveraging his position by placing a hand on the wall of the Tunnel.

According to court documents, Baer was actively involved in the melee, going as far as to hand over a police shield towards the front where officers were assembled. The rioters made use of the shields in an offensive capacity against the law enforcement personnel present. He continued his involvement until police managed to push the rioters out of the Tunnel, after which Baer once again retreated from the area.

Over a year and a half after the event, Baer was arrested by the FBI on June 26, 2023. His arrest was a result of cooperative efforts by various law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Capitol Police, and the Metropolitan Police Department, the FBI's Washington Field Office identified Baer as a person of interest, listing him as BOLO #112, with the broader investigation resulting in charges against over 1,488 individuals for their actions during the Capitol breach.