‘Beyond regretful.’ Missouri trio first in state to get jail time in Capitol riot case

A federal judge on Monday handed down jail sentences to three Missouri residents who breached the Capitol together on Jan. 6, two of them stealing a piece of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s fractured name plate.

U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg sentenced Emily Hernandez, of Sullivan, to 30 days in jail, one year of supervised release and 80 hours of community service. Her uncle, William Merry Jr., of St. Louis County, got 45 days in jail, nine months of supervised release and 80 hours of community service; and Paul Westover, of Lake St. Louis, received a jail sentence of 45 days.

The three become the first Missouri residents to receive jail time for their roles in the insurrection. Seven other Missouri residents have been sentenced to probation, and the cases of 10 others are making their way through federal court.

“I’ve said before in sentencing people regarding January 6th that the cornerstone of our democratic republic is the peaceful transfer of power after free and fair elections — that our system only functions if our representatives are elected by the people, and not those installed by violence or insurrection,” Boasberg said as he sentenced Westover after viewing more than a dozen video clips from that day, many recovered from Westover’s cellphone.

“And what you and others did on January 6 was nothing short of insurrection, and an attempt to topple a government that has been lawfully and legally elected, and maintain in power those who had lost the election.”

The three also must each pay $500 in restitution for damage to the Capitol, which prosecutors say totaled $1.5 million. The sentencing hearings were held by video conference in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The sentences came despite the defendants’ pleas that incarceration would be devastating to their families, their income, their health and a beloved elderly dog that has no one else to look after it.

Each defendant spoke to the judge prior to being sentenced.

“I think it’s clearly that there was a lot of lack of judgment by many people that day, and my lack of judgment and lapse of character during the events that transpired are beyond regretful,” Westover said.

He said his family and business have suffered and people are “calling me a domestic terrorist, insurrectionist and other things that aren’t even appropriate for me to elaborate here.”

He disputed the government’s contention that he didn’t show remorse.

“I don’t know that I could possibly be more remorseful for participating in the events of January 6,” he said. “Though not my intention when going to Washington, I did go inside the Capitol. I did allow my emotions to dictate my actions, instead of the sound principles that in any other instance of my life I live by. My desire is that the court, and most of all, my children, would see my remorse, my foolishness, but they would learn from it and never allow themselves to follow in my folly.”

Merry told the judge that “I’ve been a law-abiding citizen all my life, I’ve never done anything wrong.”

“I’m ashamed of what I’ve seen on the video, the way I acted that day,” he said. “I was caught up in the moment. Never been to any kind of political rally ever in my life, in my 63 years of being here. I’m just asking for mercy of the court, that if anything, I get home confinement. I have a dog that I truly love” and no one else to care for it.

He said he knew what he did was wrong.

“I’m remorseful for it. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t,” he said. “I’m not saying I wouldn’t go see my president speak, but I surely wouldn’t do what I did that day. I just got caught up in the moment, your honor, and I’ve got no excuses.”

Hernandez, who turns 23 on April 17, told Boasberg that she was only 21 at the time of the riot.

“When my uncle asked me if I wanted to go to Washington, D.C., to watch a Trump speech, I was only thinking about getting out of Missouri to experience something new,” she said. “I’ve always looked up to my uncle, and I’ve always trusted him.”

She said she wanted “to venture off on my own” in D.C., but Merry wouldn’t let her because he feared for her safety, so she went to the Capitol with him and Westover. Since returning home, she said, she and her parents have received hate mail and “I slowly started letting this event destroy my life.”

Now, she said, “I attend therapy to help me with the issues I’ve been struggling with since the riot, and it has helped me significantly. I want to build a career for myself and show people change is possible. I deeply regret being involved in the events of January 6.”

Boasberg told her he appreciated the letters of support she’d submitted that described her as a giving and charitable member of the community. He also noted that she was “very young and impressionable and were certainly led by your uncle and perhaps also by his friend.”

“But you weren’t 12, and you weren’t 13 when this happened,” he said. “You were 21. You were an adult — people who are old enough to vote, old enough to fight for our country. And you went into the Capitol and were part of that insurrection that day. And you were happy to steal items from the Capitol as you left.”

He said he understood “how people got infected by the mob spirit.” But without the mob, he said, nothing would have happened.

“People don’t die that day,” he said. “People aren’t traumatized and have their life turned around. And I mean police officers, people whose job was simply there to guard the capital and to protect the representatives that we all voted for. And yet, some of them died, and suffered serious consequences in their lives, because people like you didn’t think twice about what you were doing.”

Hernandez was arrested on Jan. 15, 2021, the first Missouri resident to face charges in a Capitol riot case. Westover and Merry were charged Feb. 4. Photos of Hernandez and Merry holding up Pelosi’s sign were widely distributed after the riot.

Hernandez later admitted that she breached the Capitol, then went into Pelosi’s suite and took a piece of the shattered sign bearing the speaker’s name. After that, she entered the rotunda and took a “Do Not Touch” sign from the foot of a statue. She also took a red “Keep off Fence” sign from the Capitol grounds.

She pleaded guilty on Jan. 10 of this year to one misdemeanor count of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. Five days earlier, authorities say she caused a fatal crash while driving drunk on Interstate 44 in Franklin County. Investigators said she was driving the wrong way on I-44 just after 7 p.m. on Jan. 5 when she crashed into an SUV, killing the passenger, Victoria N. Wilson, 32, of St. Clair, and seriously injuring her husband, Ryan E. Wilson, 36, who was driving.

Franklin County prosecutors charged Hernandez on March 24 with two counts of driving while intoxicated, one resulting in death and one causing serious physical injury.

Merry pleaded guilty to theft of government property, a misdemeanor, and Westover pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

‘On the front line’

In sentencing memorandums filed with the court, the details of which Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Arco outlined on Monday, the government said the three followed the crowd to steps outside the Capitol, with Westover recording a video saying they were “on the front line.” Police can be seen in the background, prosecutors said, trying to keep the crowd back, and the three were “firmly enmeshed within the front line of individuals who have been identified as Proud Boys…”

Despite the use of munitions and tear gas, the three “joined the mob in storming past several lines of law enforcement to breach the U.S. Capitol,” prosecutors said. Once in Pelosi’s suite, they watched rioters pry her name plate from above an entryway and smash it against the wall.

Hernandez picked up a shard of the sign “at her uncle’s urging,” the documents said. From Pelosi’s office, they made their way to the Rotunda, with Merry tauntingly chanting, “Nancy!” and shouting, “We bought and paid for this! We own this!”

While in the Rotunda, Merry picked up a phone on a desk and pretended to call Pelosi, repeatedly using a vulgar word to refer to her, according to the court documents.

The three were in the Capitol for nearly 40 minutes, prosecutors said. To exit, they had to crawl out a broken window.

Once outside, Hernandez and Merry “proudly displayed the shard of the Speaker’s office sign for the crowd to see,” the documents said.

In the days after the riot, prosecutors said, Merry frequently sent text messages to Hernandez and Westover. On January 10, 2021, after sharing a still photograph of himself at the Capitol from a 60 Minutes special, Merry wrote Hernandez: “My PATRIOT buddy we are going to be fine. Don’t worry anymore!!”

On January 12, as Hernandez debated whether to turn herself in after being identified in the media, Merry advised her, “it is your call do what your heart tells you. A lot can happen in this world in 2 days. Hopefully something big to take the eyes off us,” the sentencing documents said.

Merry repeated that sentiment to Westover and later told Hernandez, “Dont turn yourself in yet or call the lawyer yet. I believe something coming real big and will take the focus of [us] we have time.”

On Feb. 3, 2021, the day after Hernandez’s initial court appearance in D.C., Merry texted her: “Just know I feel so guilty that you are the only one having to go through this, I never wanted any of this to happen to you.”

He and Westover were arrested the next day.

A sentencing document filed by Hernandez’s attorney partially blamed Merry and Westover for what happened.

“While she takes complete responsibility for her actions, it is important to note that she was urged on by her uncle and his friend, both of whom were considerably older than her,” the document said. “She acted immaturely and under their influence. She could not regret that decision more.”