By Richard Sullins | richard@rantnc.com
A Sanford man has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge resulting from his arrest in Washington, D.C. following the riot at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Jere Dement Brower of Sanford was arrested along with several others on the Capitol grounds at 7:20 p.m. that evening for violating a curfew that had been imposed for 6 p.m. A statement from an officer of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia said that the group had been warned three times to leave the Capitol campus or face arrest.
After being taken to a police station to be arraigned, Brower asserted his Constitutional right to request a trial by jury. The case moved at a snail’s pace through the judicial system until April 24, when he changed his plea to guilty to the charge of unlawful entry to public property.
The charge is a misdemeanor, for which Brower could receive a monetary fine, probation, imprisonment for up to a year, or potentially other sanctions.
Court documents indicate that Brower and another man, David Ross, entered the Capitol grounds much earlier than they told officers. Photographs obtained by police during a search of Brower’s cell phone apparently showed several images of him on the National Mall and on the slope that leads to the west entrances of the Capitol around the time that protestors overwhelmed police and breached the building.
Brower, Ross, and five others were warned by a police bullhorn three times to get off the Capitol grounds on January 6, starting at 7:17 p.m. When they refused to move, officers moved in, and the group was taken into custody in the 100 block of Pennsylvania Avenue NW.
The sheer number of cases that resulted from the insurrection has slowed the federal judicial system to a crawl in many areas of the country. More than 1,000 who were present in the mob and who were observed breaking the law have been charged with federal crimes as a result of their actions. At least 500 of them have either entered guilty pleas or been found guilty.
Brower claimed he was not at the Capitol complex when the riot began early that afternoon. But in a document filed with the court by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andy Wang, a number of photographs found on his own cell phone show him on the slope of Capitol Hill in the immediate area where the fighting broke out.
Brower was able to participate remotely in pre-trial meetings through video conferencing software over the past two years but is required to be back in D.C. on July 21 to appear before Judge Erik Christian for sentencing.
At least 25 North Carolina residents have been charged so far in the case. That number includes two other men from Lee County who were also charged as a result of their participation in the events of that day.
One, Lance Grames, was also charged with a curfew violation along with Brower, but agreed to perform community service work through a deferred prosecution agreement and the government dropped charges against him after he fulfilled his obligations. Grames was killed on November 12 when he was hit by a vehicle at the intersection of North Horner Boulevard and Carthage Street in a hit-and-run incident.
The stakes are much higher, though, for David Joseph Gietzen of Sanford, whose case also seems to be heading to a conclusion. Gietzen is charged with eight counts of violating federal law, two of which are felonies.
The January 6 attack is almost certainly the most photographed crime in history, and the FBI took more than a year to pore over the 6,000 or so videos and hundreds of thousands of still photographs to build cases that show where each defendant was, what they did, and who they were with.
Gietzen was identified in nearly two dozen photographs by people who saw his image on the FBI’s website. An affidavit filed by the arresting agent said some of the images show Gietzen trying to intimidate officers by yelling directly into their faces, attempting, along with others, to push those officers out of the way, and assaulting them with his hands and a long pole. It is believed the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Gietzen’s attorneys have been holding meetings in recent months in hopes of reaching a plea-bargain to avoid a trial.
#LockThemAllTheWayUp These traitors deserve no mercy!
Wonder how proud they are now ?
Several others here in Sanford were at the Jan. 6th, one elected official, but claims not to be at the capital…..just the rally. The question is what was the reason for the rally, we know now it was an insurrection call by Trump.
What a crock of bull masquerading as journalism! First, Mr Brower was not facing any amount of significant time. Next, the case was about a curfew violation and this “unlawful entry” was the government being over zealous. I guess he entered the street. Let’s be real, if that was a BLM demonstration you would be cheering. One of these guys is dead. Two aren’t even from the area. Mr Brower lives here part time and spends more time in Florida from my understanding. You will be lucky if he doesn’t sue over this nonsense, which I hope he does. Total fiction here.
Fred sounds like another right-wing extremist who wants to always blame others instead of just admitting that someone with similar views broke any law. He’d prefer to distract us by bringing up BLM… again. In all the 6000 pictures and videos of Jan 6th, not one single BLM sign can be found. But boy were there a lot of red hats and Trump flags present as traitors busted windows and doors, attacked police officers, and forced elected officials to run for their lives.
Yeah, this dim bulb was probably not among those committing the most egregious acts, but he still refused to follow the lawful orders given to him. I doubt he’ll get any time, even though he could get a year in jail. In this case, I think a fine is good enough. I mean it wouldn’t hurt my feelings if he had to spend a few days behind bars.
I don’t know what Mr. Flintstone here is claiming is false. I mean the idiot even had pictures on his cell phone documenting that he was there when he claimed he wasn’t. It is warming my heart to see so many of these traitors actually serving real time for the crimes they were convicted of by juries. More to come!
This bs talks about “fighting” and supposedly saw the evidence on his phone. I saw the videos Jere and Lance were shooting for the Livestream while it happened. This was about a curfew warning (that if you watch the video was never given) and three guys walking to their hotel. The max penalty was six months, which as someone who actually knows Jere and sat in on most of these teleconferences that probably isn’t happening. The other dispute is if the street was government property. Watching the video, they were all standing at the National Gallery when they were arrested, which is a far away from the capitol. Some of you don’t live in Sanford, I know Gordon never even attempted to reach out to Jere or Lance to get their side of things. In the meanwhile, several local arrests for child molestation have occurred and you never hear the Rant reporting on that. Makes one wonder why?
What an insulting bit of whataboutism you’re showing. I hope no one believes the anonymous little man in the corner when he says he *knows* what Gordon did or didn’t do.
Gotta love people cheering like this is proof of some grand conspiracy to overthrow the government. Hate to break your hearts he has pleaded guilty to what really amounts to a parking violation. His life isn’t ruined, he has lost nothing. He can still vote, he can still own a gun, he can still do all the things everyone else can do. So this is not some huge victory. This is making a big deal out of a nothing charge all to seem like there is some great victory for justice. Good Grief…. Today in the news a Sanford man pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of not wearing a seatbelt….
I suspect you are right about his punishment unless he already has a criminal record. I hope he starts to focus on other enjoyable things in life. I am of the notion we would all be better off if we watched re-runs of Gunsmoke instead of all the BS being spewed from the right and left from “so called” cable news channels.
Careful whoever is writing this article because you could easily be facing defamation of character charges making false accusations!!! That’s dangerous. Praying for YOU!!
I think whoever wrote the article is safe. Jere admitted his guilt as stated above. Don’t you find it curious that he changed his plea after they found the pictures on his cell phone, placing him on capitol hill where the violence began? I don’t think he took part in the violence himself. It really doesn’t matter. He lied, got caught, and admitted guilt. Pay the little fine and be a better citizen in the future.
I love Joe Biden!! He’s the greatest president ever! Can’t believe people were upset and were thinking he would ruin this country. We are building back better! Correct.
Does any one really think BIDEN IS the one that runs this country? Obama tells him what to say!
Ya lock him up…..