HANCOCK COUNTY — Joshua Wagner, a 2016 graduate of Greenfield-Central High School, has been sentenced to 30 days behind bars for his role in the 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Wagner, 23, Greenwood, apologized in court Friday, Feb. 11 and said “there’s nothing I can do to take that back.”
He pleaded guilty last year to a misdemeanor charge of parading in the Capitol. The government said Wagner’s phone video showed him referring to Capitol police officers as “traitors.”
Wagner is accused of saying, “we will occupy this ground for as long as we can,” according to investigators.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said Wagner clearly wanted to inspire the rioters. He was not like others who “stepped in, took a selfie and stepped out,” she said.
A co-defendant, Israel Tutrow, also of Greenfield, was placed on probation this past December. Tutrow attended Greenfield-Central High School before transferring. As part of the plea agreement, Tutrow agreed to let officials look at his social media posts in relation to events on and around Jan. 6, examine his cellphone, and take part in an interview with officials surrounding the incident.
Wagner and Tutrow traveled together to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021 to attend the protest of the impending certification of the presidential election results. Hundreds of protesters stormed the Capitol that afternoon; five people died as a result of the ensuing violence.
According to the sentencing documents, Wagner agreed to a sentence of 30 days of incarceration, 36 months of probation, including a condition that Wagner not possess any firearm or ammunition for the duration of his probation and pay $500 in restitution.
