Virginia Couple Sentenced to Home Confinement for Entering US Capitol on Jan. 6

A Virginia couple was sentenced by a judge on Aug. 4 to home confinement for entering the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 breach of the building.

Joshua Bustle was sentenced to 30 days of confinement at home, while his wife, Jessica Bustle, was ordered to stay 60 days of home confinement.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan, a Reagan appointee, also sentenced the couple to 24 months probation and ordered them to pay $500 in restitution each.

The couple pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of parading, demonstrating, or picketing in the Capitol building, in return for three other charges being dropped.

According to court documents, the Bustles admitted to entering the Capitol on Jan. 6 through a door that had been breached by rioters and staying inside for about 20 minutes.

They weren’t accused of carrying out violent acts.

According to one charging document, Jessica Bustle called former Vice President Mike Pence “a traitor.” Pence was presiding over the joint session of Congress that was interrupted by the breach.

“We stormed the capital,” Jessica Bustle wrote, noting that her husband and she were in the area for a rally for health freedom.

Lawyers for the couple argued in court that their punishments should be no different than the first Jan. 6 defendant to be sentenced, who received only probation for a misdemeanor offense.- READ MORE