Here's the latest on 9 people with Indiana ties charged after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot
In the months after thousands of rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, nine people with Indiana ties have been arrested and charged in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack.
A Hoosier became the first person to be sentenced for her role in the insurrection as the United States continues its mammoth prosecution against about 500 people facing criminal charges.
Here are the statuses of the cases:
Jon Schaffer
From: Columbus
Status of case: Pleaded guilty to two charges, both felonies. Sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Jon Schaffer turned himself in to the FBI over 10 days after the riot. The Columbus native and heavy metal guitarist of band Iced Earth was photographed inside the Capitol arguing with police and holding a can of “bear spray,” a pepper-based irritant.
Schaffer initially faced six charges, including engaging in an act of physical violence in a Capitol building, knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disrupting the orderly conduct of government business, violent entry and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, engaging in an act of physical violence in a Capitol building, and demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
Schaffer pleaded guilty to two of the charges against him, both felonies, that carry up to 30 years in prison. He became the first U.S. Capitol defendant to enter a plea.
In his plea, Schaffer admitted to being one of the founders of the Oath Keepers, a right-wing militia group that describes itself as a “non-partisan association of current and formerly serving military, police and first responders.”
Federal prosecutors are pursuing conspiracy cases involving members of the Oath Keepers connected with the Jan. 6 attack, believing the group pre-planned the riot to disrupt Congress’ certification of election votes.
Schaffer is not charged in the Justice Department’s conspiracy case against the organization. The court sealed records of his arraignment and plea hearing on April 16 to allot his attorney and federal prosecutors 90 days to redact any part of his transcript before it became public.
A sentencing hearing for Schaffer has not yet been scheduled.
Related: Indiana native, Iced Earth guitarist Jon Schaffer, who stormed U.S. Capitol pleads guilty
Joshua Wagner
From: Greenwood
Status of case: He pleaded not guilty to four charges.
Joshua Wagner, of Greenwood, turned himself in to law enforcement after witnesses said he became “very scared and worried” once the FBI published his photo on a wanted poster, becoming the second Hoosier taken into custody for storming the Capitol.
Investigators in court records said witnesses told them Wagner picked up Israel Tutrow, another defendant, around 2 a.m. Jan. 6 to drive to Washington for what initially began as a rally for then-President Donald Trump.
Photographs showing both Wagner and Tutrow inside the Capitol emerged the following days. Wagner is shown wearing a red beanie hat with “TRUMP” stitched in white lettering.
Wagner pleaded not guilty May 3 to charges of knowingly entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct which impedes the conduct of government business, disruptive conduct in the Capitol buildings and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in the Capitol buildings.
Wagner is out on personal recognizance.
Related: Two Central Indiana men plead not guilty to federal charges in Capitol insurrection
Israel Tutrow
From: Greenfield
Status of case: Entered a plea deal for one of the four crimes with which he was charged.
FBI agents arrested Tutrow the day after Wagner turned himself in to federal authorities.
Photos of Tutrow began circulating after the insurrection, showing him wearing a black beanie hat with “TRUMP” lettering. Court records allege the Greenfield man could be seen “moving from inside to outside the U.S. Capitol.”
A witness told investigators that Tutrow said he felt “sick with anxiety following the riot.”
He originally pleaded not guilty on May 3 to all four charges: knowingly entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct which impedes the conduct of government business, disruptive conduct in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
But on Oct. 6 he entered a plea agreement for the last charge. The maximum sentence he faces is six months imprisonment and a fine of up to $5,000.
Like Wagner, Tutrow is out on personal recognizance. He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 21.
Dona Sue Bissey
From: Bloomfield
Status of case: U.S. Judge Tanya S. Chutkan sentenced Bissey on Oct. 12 to two weeks incarceration, 60 hours of community service and a $500 fine after Bissey pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
Bissey’s Facebook posts led to her arrest and criminal charges alleging her involvement in the Capitol attack, records show.
Agents arrested Bissey late February after witnesses submitted tips to law enforcement showing her posts and photos inside the Capitol on Facebook.
Bissey told Facebook friends she had to pick glass out of her purse after entering the building, court records show. She called Jan. 6 the "Best (expletive) day ever!!"
Another witness told investigators that Bissey often talked about her support for QAnon conspiracy theories at her now-shuttered hair salon in Indianapolis.
She faces federal charges of entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, violent entry and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
Bissey on July 19 said in federal court that she will agree to plead guilty to one charge of parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. Judge Tanya S. Chutkan will rule on the plea, and told Bissey during the hearing that she faces a maximum sentence of six months in prison with a year of supervised release and a maximum fine of $5,000.
Bissey is currently out on release. Her sentencing hearing will take place Oct. 12.
Related: FBI arrests two Indiana women in connection with Capitol riot
Anna Morgan-Lloyd
From: Bloomfield
Status of case: Sentenced to probation
Morgan-Lloyd traveled to D.C. with Bissey on Jan. 6 to attend Trump’s rally, federal prosecutors said.
The FBI arrested Morgan-Lloyd after a Greene County Sheriff’s Office employee notified the authorities when she attempted to obtain a gun permit weeks after the attack and recognized her from Facebook posts showing her involvement that day.
Morgan-Lloyd agreed to plead guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building, a federal misdemeanor.
In her plea, Morgan-Lloyd wrote she felt ashamed the rally for Trump that day turned violent, and realized her participation likely fueled the “ones who were violent” to continue rioting.
“For that I am sorry and take responsibility,” she wrote. “It was never my intent to help empower people to act violently.”
Morgan-Lloyd said she’s since learned by watching movies and reading books recommended by her attorney, such as “Schindler’s List” and “Just Mercy.”
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth on June 23 accepted the plea and sentenced her to three years of probation, a $500 fine and 40 hours of community service.
Related: Indiana woman to plead guilty in Capitol riot wrote reports on 'Schindler's List,' more
Kash Lee Kelly
From: Hammond
Status of case: Hearings in this case continue to be delayed. The next one is scheduled for Jan. 21, 2022.
Kelly was already in legal trouble before federal prosecutors alleged his participation in the Capitol insurrection.
The Hammond man faced a drug charge that predated the Capitol riot and related to his time as a Latin King gang member, the Chicago Tribune reported. Authorities later became aware of his federal charges of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Court records show Kelly posted photos of himself climbing a wall at the Capitol with a US flag. In one caption, he wrote, “the day we let the Traitors who constantly push the divide in OUR country know that we are done playing their games.”
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana judge presiding over Kelly's narcotics case sentenced Kelly in February to four years in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana, while noting his displeasure with Kelly’s Capitol charges.
Antony Vo
From: Arrested in Bloomington
Status of case: Pleaded not guilty to four counts. Status hearing scheduled for Oct. 22.
As chaos unfurled inside the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, former Indiana University student Antony Vo looked at peace — happy, even — as he stood alongside a woman law enforcement believe is his mother and posed for a photo that was later circulated by members of his college fraternity.
"My mom and I helped stop the vote count for a bit," Vo wrote to a friend through social media.
A Donald Trump supporter who witnesses say leans libertarian and engages in conspiracy theories, Vo allegedly entered the U.S. Capitol building illegally Jan. 6 after attending the pro-Trump "Stop the Steal" rally that took place the same day in Washington, D.C., according to court documents.
He was arrested on July 21 in Bloomington.
On Aug. 10 he pleaded not guilty to four federal charges in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia: entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
Vo is out on personal recognizance. He will appear in court for a status hearing on Oct. 22.
Jonathan Ace Sanders Sr.
From: Vincennes
Status of case: Sentenced to three years of probation Nov. 4 after pleading guilty to parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
It wasn't social media posts or photos that turned law enforcement on to Jonathan Ace Sanders for entering the Capitol building Jan. 6. His criminal investigation started at a bakery in Vincennes, Indiana.
Six days after the Capitol riot, the FBI received a tip from someone they believe was Sanders' coworker at Lewis Bakery. The person said Sanders bragged to them about being just 70 feet away from where Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot by Capitol police inside the federal building.
On Jan. 14, law enforcement visited Lewis Bakery and interviewed Sanders. He admitted to traveling to Washington, D.C. on Jan. 5 with two friends to attend the "Stop the Steal" rally. He also admitted to entering the Capitol building and documenting the rotunda area with photo and video.
When shown a still image from surveillance footage taken inside the Capitol building, a witness who attended the rally with Sanders told law enforcement that he believed he saw Sanders among the mass of people in the still image. "It looked like Ace," the witness said, using Sanders' middle name.
Sanders was arrested in Vincennes on May 25. He was charged in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia with entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, violent entry and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
Mark Mazza
From: Shelbyville
Status of case: Mazza's first appearance in court was Nov. 18. Federal agents arrested him in his Shelbyville home. He's been charged with illegal possession of a firearm on Capitol grounds, civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers with a dangerous weapon in connection with the Jan. 6 riot.
Agents in court documents said police retrieved Mazza's gun on Capitol grounds that day, which they traced and linked to him. Video footage also showed him among the crowd trying to break into the West Front Terrace, holding the door open for rioters and swing a baton at police.
Mazza reported the gun stolen to Shelbyville police two days after the Capitol breach, claiming it was taken from his car at a Hard Rock casino in Ohio.
IndyStar reporter Lawrence Andrea contributed to this report.
Contact Sarah Nelson at sarah.nelson@indystar.com or 317-503-7514.
Call IndyStar courts reporter Johnny Magdaleno at 317-273-3188 or email him at jmagdaleno@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @IndyStarJohnny
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Capitol riot: See status of Indiana residents who faced charges
