Willard Jake Perth, surrounded in red, was sentenced on Monday to probation in connection with the uprising in the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 (US Attorney’s Office)
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WASHINGTON – A man from southern Utah has been sentenced to probation and house arrest after appearing in a video shot at the US Capitol during the January 6, 2021 uprising.
Willard Jake Perth – Utah’s fourth indictee in connection with the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, was sentenced on Monday to three years probation and 240 hours of community service. He is also required to observe 60 days of house arrest with electronic surveillance. He will also pay a total of $ 1,000 in restitution and fines.
Perth, a resident of Tockerville, Washington, pleaded guilty in January to one charge of parade, demonstration or picketing in the Capitol.
During Monday’s hearing, federal prosecutors demanded that Perth be jailed for up to 30 days. Brittany Reed, a federal prosecutor, told the court that Peart was “very cooperative” during the investigation, noting that he turned himself in to federal investigators within two weeks of the riot. She also stressed that Perth did not physically attack the police in the building, nor did he damage property while he was there.
However, Reed noted that Peart told investigators that he had witnessed police being attacked by others as he made his way to the US Capitol. While inside, he chanted “Our House” with the others, Reed said.
She also cited Peart’s statement to FBI agents on Monday about Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, which was included in last month’s memorandum on the prosecutor’s conviction, which urged Peart to receive a prison sentence.
“I don’t know what would have happened if I had seen Mitt Romney,” Peart told FBI agents, according to the memorandum. “Maybe it’s good that I didn’t see him, because I would be, who knows, I was definitely there. so I don’t know … “
The same memorandum notes that Peart expressed regret for Jan. 6 as he became an FBI agent about two weeks after the attack on the Capitol.
Perth’s lawyer, John Tatum, said Monday that Pirt had contacted him about a week after the riot because Pirt told him he wanted to take responsibility. Not only did Peart tell the court and federal investigators that he regretted his actions, Tatum said, Peart also expressed regret in private to friends and colleagues. Tatum said the letters with characters presented to the court came from those who knew Perth best, and mentioned how he had expressed his remorse to others.
Tatum asked the court to avoid Perth’s prison sentence, arguing that Perth could do more good for the community through hours of public service than hours or days spent behind bars.
When given the opportunity to address the judge, Peart said Monday that he was still unsure why he did not realize the gravity of the Capitol riot, saying there were clear signs that he should not have been there.
Perth said he had voted for then-President Donald Trump in both the 2016 and 2020 elections, and was “concerned about the integrity of the election.” Going to the US Capitol, Peart said he believed he was carrying an order from the president.
Court records show that Perth can be seen on security cameras entering and moving into the building on January 6, 2021. A government memorandum says Peart was told to leave the building three times before a police officer escorted him to output.
Perth said his actions have caused significant problems for the country and the people. He said that if he could return, he would not participate.
Perth – who also told the court that he is currently running for a seat on the Washington County School Board – said he wanted to take responsibility for his actions and would respect any sentence given to him.
U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman eventually ruled that Perth would avoid prison, but noted that Peart’s actions were part of a very serious event in history.
Friedman also noted a “truly remarkable” letter sent on behalf of Perth by Tatum’s former client, Andrea Milholm. Milholm spent five years in prison after a pedestrian crash in Denver killed one of Perth’s younger sisters and left another sister seriously. Milholm – who was drunk at the time of the crash – was embraced by Perth and Perth’s family as they chose to forgive her, according to documentation provided by Tatum regarding the sentence.
In addition to the prison, Friedman also ordered Peart to avoid going to Washington, D.C., for the duration of his probation, unless the trip was approved by his probation provider. Peart has not been in custody since Monday.
Perth was the second Utah man to plead guilty to riot charges. He is the third Yutan to be convicted and all three have escaped prison.
Eight Utah residents accused of rioting in US Capitol on January 6, 2021 (Photo: KSL-TV) ×
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Jacob Scholl joined KSL.com as a reporter in 2021. He covers communities in northern Utah, federal courts and technology.
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