Leo Bozell, son of prominent conservative activist, sentenced to almost four years in prison for his actions during the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot
On Friday, May 17, the son of a prominent political conservative activist was sentenced to 45 months in prison for what prosecutors said was his “relentless” assault on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, where he assaulted law enforcement, destroyed government property and was one of the first of the U.S. rioters to invade the Senate floor. Leo Brent Bozell IV, 44, of Palmyra, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John D. Bates and in addition to his almost four-year jail sentence, was also sentenced to three months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $4,729 in restitution.
Judge Bates found Bozell guilty of 10 charges, including four felonies, on September 8, 2023, following a bench trial. The now convicted felon is the grandnephew of William F. Buckley Jr., and the son of L. Brent Bozell III, who founded the Media Research Center, the Parents Television Council and other conservative media organizations, according to The Associated Press.
At his sentencing, Bozell turned to apologize to two Capitol police officers sitting in the courtroom gallery before U.S. District Judge John Bates sentenced him to three years and nine months behind bars. He also told his parents and wife that he has “put a stain on my family forever.”
“I don’t recognize that person in the videos,” he said. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
According to evidence presented during the trial and court documents, Bozell traveled to Washington, D.C., from Palmyra, Pennsylvania, on January 5, 2021. On January 6th, Bozell attended Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally and later marched with the crowd towards the U.S. Capitol. Bozell entered Capitol grounds shortly before 2:00 p.m., made his way past the barriers, and approached the Northwest Stairs, where he watched as rioters confronted officers on the landing of the staircase. Bozell watched as another rioter rushed at the officers while nearby rioters cut through the tarp on the construction scaffolding.
As rioters continued to assault officers, Bozell used a bike rack barrier as a ladder to climb part way up the balustrade and supply the violent rioters on the stairs with objects, including a long white pole. Around 1:48 p.m., at the base of the Northwest Stairs near the entrance of the scaffolding, rioters, Bozell included, surged forward and overran a police line. About halfway up the stairs, the rioters were slowed down by a construction wall and another line of officers underneath the scaffolding. As rioters chanted, Bozell climbed around the wall and joined the rioters as they overran the line of officers. The officers retreated up the stairs to the landing as the mob moved forward.
Once the mob reached the landing of the staircase, they were again stopped, this time by a bike rack wall, a line of officers, and the large white tarp that wrapped the construction scaffolding. As officers struggled to maintain control of the bike racks, Bozell ripped through the tarp. Bozell then crawled through the entry point that he ripped, making it one step closer to the Capitol building. As Bozell emerged on the landing, one officer immediately moved to push Bozell back, and Bozell aggressively yelled at the officer. Bozell then leaned his body over the balustrade and waved for other rioters to ascend the stairs. He then faced an officer and yelled in the officer’s face.
At about 2:09 p.m., Bozell and a crowd of rioters faced off with a police line on the staircase. One rioter—standing directly next to Bozell— coordinated the crowd by yelling, “ARE YOU READY TO PUSH?! LET’S PUSH! . . . PUSH!” With that, the rioters, Bozell included, forcefully barreled through the police line, making physical contact with the officers. Officers retreated up the staircase to avoid being trampled. At the top of the staircase, police formed another line behind bike racks. However, with Bozell at the front of the mob, the rioters forcefully pushed the bike racks aside, sprayed the officers with chemical irritants, and used their momentum to quickly overrun this police line.
At approximately 2:12 p.m., the mob pushed over the barricades and surged forward toward the Capitol building. After having joined rioters in overrunning four lines of police officers, Bozell stepped past the toppled bike racks and darted towards the Senate Wing Door. Along the way, Bozell picked up a heavy metal object from the ground. Bozell rushed to the Senate Wing Door, making him one of the first rioters to reach the Capitol building. He used the heavy metal object and immediately started bashing the windowpane, striking it at least ten times and shattering the glass. Bozell moved a couple of feet over to the large window directly north of the Senate Wing Door. He bashed that window at least eleven times until the glass shattered and littered the floor.
At about 2:15 p.m., Bozell, with scores of other rioters, clambered through the window that he helped break. Bozell and other rioters marched towards the Senate Wing as nearby Senate staffers hurried away from the mob. A United States Capitol Police (USCP) officer responded to the breach. The mob, Bozell included, chased the officer up a staircase. The responding officer led the rioters into the Ohio Clock Corridor, where a line of other officers awaited. Bozell separated from the group, made his way down a hall, and entered a meeting room for Senators.
Around that time, two USCP Officers checking rooms for staffers in hiding discovered Bozell in the room. The officers escorted Bozell out, and he rejoined the rioters in the Ohio Clock Corridor. He walked deeper into the Capitol building and eventually made his way to the Office of the Speaker of the Senate, Nancy Pelosi. As he exited the Speaker’s office, Bozell appeared to be carrying something in his hand. He proceeded to the Rotunda doors, where he joined rioters in forcing the doors open, allowing another flood of rioters into the building.
Soon after, Bozell was seen on the balcony of the U.S. Senate Chamber Here, as the mob chanted, “Treason! Treason!” Bozell unpacked a bag that he found filled with emergency supplies. While still in the Senate Gallery, he climbed over railings and reached a pair of CSPAN cameras. Bozell pointed one camera at the ground, obstructing its recording ability, just as rioters made it to the Senate Floor. Bozell made it to the Senate floor shortly after that and later left the Capitol Building at 3:07 p.m., having spent almost an hour inside.
The FBI arrested Bozell on February 21, 2021, in Palmyra. Prosecutors were originally vying for a 140-month prison sentence for Bozell plus the added charge of domestic terrorism, neither of which were successful.
For more on Bozell’s sentencing, see the video accompanying this article.
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(Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia)
(Cover photo: Video snip of Bozell after breaking through a window to enter the Capitol Building, Image credit: Twitter)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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