Jan. 6 riot defendant returned to jail for using internet
A federal judge on Thursday ordered a prominent participant in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol to return to jail after he was caught accessing the internet to watch false conspiracy theories about the presidential election. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly said that Doug Jensen, 42, of Des Moines, Iowa, had
violated the strict conditions that were set when he released Jensen from jail on July 13,
including prohibitions on accessing the internet and using a cellphone. Kelly ordered marshals at the federal courthouse in Des Moines, where Jensen attended Thursday’s hearing, to immediately take him into custody as he awaits trial.
Prosecutors moved to revoke Jensen’s pretrial release on Aug. 19, days after a federal officer found Jensen in his garage using an iPhone to watch news from Rumble, a streaming platform popular with conservatives.
Jensen acknowledged that he had earlier watched two days of the cyber symposium sponsored by
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, an ally of former President Donald Trump who used the event to push false theories that the presidential election’s outcome was changed by Chinese hackers.
Kelly noted that he had released Jensen from jail on July 13 after Jensen claimed he had an awakening behind bars and realized the QAnon conspiracy theory to which he adhered was a “pack of lies.” The judge said he put in place the strict conditions, including the internet ban, because Jensen had previously spent years following online conspiracies and acknowledged he had become a “true believer” and “digital soldier.”
Kelly said it was significant that Jensen’s violations were caught during the first unannounced visit to his home by pretrial services officers.
“It’s now clear that he has not experienced a transformation and that he continues to seek out those conspiracy theories that led to his dangerous conduct on Jan. 6,” Kelly said. “I don’t see any reason to believe that he has had the wake-up call that he needs.” Kelly said it was unlikely that Jensen would be able to follow any other conditions of release barring internet use and that he had lost confidence in Jensen’s wife to serve as his third-party custodian.
Jensen’s attorney, Christopher Davis said it was “Orwellian” for the government to seek to jail a man who was sitting in his garage listening to 'the news'.
https://apnews.com/article/technology-capitol-siege-a8b8a146f368d8105533e95f520b105d
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