A Jan. 6 rioter praised Vivek Ramaswamy at his sentencing for suggesting riot was an 'inside job'

WASHINGTON — A former California police chief convicted of a conspiracy charge during the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was sentenced Thursday to more than 11 years in prison after giving a speech praising Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's suggestion that the attack January 6, 2021 could have been an “attack”. from the inside.”

Alan Hostetter, who prosecutors say carried an ax in his backpack on Jan. 6, concocted conspiracy theories while speaking to a judge at his sentencing hearing, falsely claiming the 2020 election had been stolen from the former President Donald Trump and referred to the riot as a “false flag” operation.

Only eight other January 6 defendants have received longer sentences so far. He has the third-longest Jan. 6 sentence among those not charged with seditious conspiracy.

Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur running his first political campaign, has attracted attention in the Republican field with his fast-paced, rambling speeches in which he often discusses things he says are “truths.”

By suggesting that federal agents were behind Jan. 6 during a GOP debate on Wednesday, Ramaswamy promoted a conspiracy theory embraced by many on the far right who claimed Trump supporters were framed. There is no evidence to support these claims, and FBI Director Christopher Wray has said that the “idea that the violence at the Capitol on January 6 was somehow part of an operation orchestrated by FBI sources and agents is ridiculous.”

Ramaswamy's campaign did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Hostetter, who defended himself at his trial with the help of a standby lawyer, said Ramaswamy's mention shows that ideas like his are “no longer fringe theories.”

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said Hostetter's conviction had nothing to do with his beliefs, but rather overstepping police lines as part of the riot that interrupted Congress as they certified the 2020 election. He imposed a prison sentence of 135 months, comparable to the more than twelve years in prison that prosecutors had sought.

Prosecutor Anthony Mariano pointed to messages Hostetter posted before Jan. 6, including one about putting “the fear of God in the members of Congress.”

“This is not a case just about words… this man took action based on those words,” he said, detailing knives and other items Hostetter also brought to Washington.

An attorney who advised him, Karren Kenney, argued that Hostetter did not push against police lines and enter the Capitol. Hostetter also claimed he did not bring his hatchet to the Capitol.

Hostetter was convicted in July of four charges, including conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and entering a restricted area with a deadly or dangerous weapon.

Hostetter had previously served as police chief in La Habra, California, near Los Angeles, but had transitioned to teaching yoga when he founded a nonprofit called the American Phoenix Project in the spring of 2020. He used the tax-exempt organization to oppose COVID. -19 restrictions and advocating violence against political opponents following the 2020 presidential election.

Hostetter was arrested in June 2021 along with five other men. Their indictment linked four of Hostetter's co-defendants to the Three Percenters wing of the militia movement. Their name refers to the myth that only 3% of Americans fought against the British in the Revolutionary War.

Hostetter said he has no connection to the Three Percenters movement and accused prosecutors of falsely portraying him as “a caricature of some radical terrorist.”

About 1,200 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot. About 900 of them have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a judge or jury after a trial. More than 700 of them have been convicted, of which about two-thirds receive a prison sentence ranging from three days to 22 years.