Western Pa. residents played large role in Jan. 6 assault on Capitol
Nine local people convicted in 2021 attack on Congress
Four years after thousands of Donald Trump鈥檚 supporters rioted at the U.S. Capitol and attempted to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 presidential election for Joe Biden, the events of Jan. 6, 2021, are now viewed through a political prism that is as divided as the country.
Was Jan. 6 a violent insurrection or a peaceful protest with a few bad actors?
Did Trump鈥檚 own words at his 鈥淪top the Steal鈥 rally earlier that day in Washington, D.C., whip the crowd into a frenzy to march to the Capitol, or was there already a plot by some to thwart the Electoral College certification?
Were federal prosecutors overwhelmingly successful in securing nearly 1,100 convictions because the evidence was so strong, or was it because defendants mostly felt coerced into pleading guilty in order to avoid a D.C. jury at trial with guilty verdicts that might bring stiffer sentences?
鈥淥ne of the problems with the whole Jan. 6 issue is it is almost impossible to be viewed except through the lens of whatever political disposition you happen to have. And that鈥檚 the problem,鈥 said Bruce Antkowiak, a law professor at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe and former federal prosecutor. 鈥淲as it a true attempt to overthrow the government and democracy? I think that would be an ambitious rendering. Do I think it was a mere peaceful protest? I think it was more than that on the part of some of the people involved.鈥
Some of the left have seen it as a seminal moment in American history 鈥 the first large-scale attack on the U.S. Capitol since the British invaded during the War of 1812 鈥 while some on the right dismissed the events as being overblown by the news media or even being a government conspiracy to entrap Trump鈥檚 supporters.
鈥淚t is seen on one side as a far more radical event than those on the other,鈥 Antkowiak said. 鈥淚 think a lot of those things in American culture have been distorted by the political polarization.鈥
A week after the riot and just as Trump became the first American president in history to be impeached twice, Waynesburg University professor Larry Stratton called it a 鈥済rotesque鈥 event in which Trump appeared to have 鈥渋nvited鈥 the violence that day. Now four years later, Stratton wishes the country knew more about what happened, even after a special congressional committee convened in 2022 to investigate the events and Trump himself was indicted on federal charges accusing him of attempting to overturn the presidental election.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very serious and I think that the Trump people or whoever the people organized the (rally), the violence didn鈥檛 suddenly happen,鈥 said Stratton, who teaches constitutional law at Waynesburg. 鈥淭here was something encouraging it, as if a psychosis took over. 鈥 Hopefully America is getting beyond that, but I don鈥檛 know what it is.鈥
But one thing that cannot be denied is how residents from Southwestern Pennsylvania played an outsized role in the Capitol riot. Out of the 1,098 people who have been convicted and sentenced so far, nine of them came from this immediate area. Five had ties to Washington County, one couple traveled from Uniontown and two others hailed from Bridgeville and South Fayette respectively in Allegheny County. Many others who have been convicted also came from Western Pennsylvania.
Antkowiak said it makes sense that there would be numerous people from this area who traveled to the capital for Trump鈥檚 rally as the region has morphed from a Democratic stronghold into one that has become firmly entrenched in the 鈥淢ake America Great Again鈥 political movement.
鈥淚 think, again, it reflects that this area has really 鈥 interestingly to me 鈥 has become a very politicized area. 鈥 that has taken a tremendous turn,鈥 Antkowiak said. 鈥淚t has struck them in a much more abrasive tone.鈥
Peter Schwartz and his wife, Shelly Stallings, traveled from their temporary home in Uniontown and were in the middle of some of the most ferocious battles with police outside the Capitol. Schwartz showered police officers with pepper spray, threw a chair at them, attempted to organize the mob to rush an entrance and wielded a wooden tire baton during the attack, while Stallings also used chemical sprays on police. Schwartz was convicted by a jury on all charges and sentenced to 14 years in prison 鈥 the longest J6 prison term at the time 鈥 while Stallings pleaded guilty to lesser charges and was sentenced to two years.
Jorden Mink of South Fayette, who used a baseball bat to bash through a window at the Capitol, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison followed by 36 months on supervised release.
Dale 鈥淒J鈥 Shalvey and Tara Stottlemyer, who were living in Bentleyville at the time, entered the U.S. Senate chambers and were seen on video rummaging through documents left on desks by fleeing senators. The couple pleaded guilty, with Shalvey being sentenced to 41 months in prison and Stottlemyer being ordered to serve eight months.
Kenneth Grayson of Bridgeville led a group from the area to D.C. and was seen on video inside the basement crypt of the Capitol. He pleaded guilty to lesser charges and was sentenced to two months in prison.
Philip Vogel II of Chartiers Township and Debra Maimone of Burgettstown, who were living in New Castle at the time, pleaded guilty to entering the Capitol and taking government-issued gas masks. Vogel was sentenced to one month in prison while Maimone was ordered to serve two years on probation.
Joshua Atwood of Burgettstown, who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers with a variety of weapons during the riot, was sentenced last month to serve four years in prison.
Even former Republican state representative Rick Saccone, whose legislative district included parts of Washington County, traveled to Washington, D.C., for the protest that day and gleefully posted on social media that the Capitol was getting overrun.
鈥淲e are storming the capitol. Our vanguard has broken thru the barricades. We will save this nation. Are u with me?鈥
Saccone, who was not charged or accused of wrongdoing, later said his wording was 鈥渏ust a figure of speech kind of thing鈥 and that he was far from the actual Capitol building at the time and left once he realized protesters were actually inside.
Antkowiak doesn鈥檛 know what spurred some of the protesters to act so violently, but thinks their deep-seated beliefs that the 2020 election was 鈥渟tolen鈥 may have led them to go beyond 鈥渨aving a sign鈥 in protest.
鈥淚t draws a line of distinction between making your point and making your point by the destruction of property,鈥 Antkowiak said of First Amendment protections. 鈥淣o matter how serious you think the issue is that you think you鈥檙e protesting, it does not give you a blank check to protest it any way you want.鈥
As Trump prepares to return to the White House for a second term 鈥 this time as 47th president of the United States 鈥 he has signaled that he may offer immediate pardons to those convicted of participating in the Jan. 6 riot, or his Department of Justice may stop prosecuting the hundreds of others who are charged and awaiting trial.
It鈥檚 unknown if any of the nine local people will be granted pardons. Many have already served their prison sentences, while some pleaded guilty to attacking police officers, which could be politically tricky because it鈥檚 a constituency that overwhelmingly supports Trump.
Stratton found parallels between events on Jan. 6 and that of the Whiskey Rebellion in the late 18th century, which had roots in Western Pennsylvania.
鈥淚t was called an insurrection and it was part of our world. So it might be a psychological phenomenon,鈥 Stratton said of the possibly rebellious mindset of the region. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 a sense of alienation, the politicization of our society, and that is unfortunate. I wish we could get beyond it.鈥
Twenty of the Whiskey Rebellion鈥檚 alleged leaders from this region were marched to the federal capital of Philadelphia to face trial in 1794. Only two of them were convicted of treason, but then President George Washington pardoned them after petitions were sent to him asking to spare their lives. The rest of the so-called Whiskey Rebels were sent back home.
Stratton said he might start his spring semester classes discussing current events and finding any correlation to the Whiskey Insurrection. But he also acknowledged it could be too soon to know what will transpire in today鈥檚 political environment.
鈥淲e have to wait to see what will happen,鈥 Stratton said. 鈥淲ho are the lawyers who are going to be drafting (pardon requests), and it鈥檚 all in the aftermath of the Biden pardons. So we鈥檙e caught in the perpetual ricochet event.鈥
Until then, Stratton wonders if the recent passing of former president Jimmy Carter and the attention on his 鈥渕oral character鈥 could bring the nation together, albeit just briefly. He also expects Trump鈥檚 return to office on Jan. 20 will go smoother than four years ago when he tried unsuccessfully to cling to power.
鈥淭here will be a peaceful transfer of power this time,鈥 Stratton said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 unfortunate there wasn鈥檛 one last time.鈥
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Local Jan. 6 defendants
Peter Schwartz of Uniontown 鈥 sentenced to 14 years in prison
Jordan Mink of South Fayette 鈥 sentenced to 51 months in prison
Joshua Atwood of Burgettstown 鈥 sentenced to 4 years in prison
Shelly Stallings of Uniontown 鈥 sentenced to 2 years in prison
Dale 鈥淒J鈥 Shalvey of Bentleyville 鈥 sentenced to 41 months in prison
Tara Stottlemyer of Bentleyville 鈥 sentenced to 8 months in prison
Kenneth Grayson of Bridgeville 鈥 sentenced to 2 months in prison
Philip Vogel II of Chartiers Township 鈥 sentenced to 1 month in prison
Debra Maimone of Burgettstown 鈥 sentenced to 2 years鈥 probation