Former NSA worker Paul Lovley gets 14-day sentence for Jan. 6 attack on nation’s Capitol
A former National Security Agency (NSA) worker who stormed the U.S Capitol on Jan. 6 received a 14-day prison sentence to be served over the course of seven weekends, followed by probation.
Paul Lovley, who authorities said is aligned with a white nationalist movement, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of parading in a capitol building. The 24-year-old information technology specialist worked for the NSA prior to the attack on the Capitol, for which he was charged along with four associates linked to the America First movement headed by Holocaust skeptic Nick Fuentes.
Fuentes, an internet personality, gained national notoriety in November when he and rapper Kanye West were hosted by Donald Trump at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump claims he was unfamiliar with right-wing influencer prior to that meeting.
Fuentes protested outside the Capitol on Jan. 6 along with thousands of Trump supporters who falsely claimed the 2020 election was somehow rigged. He is not accused of entering the building.
Lovley, 24, hosted his alleged accomplice in his Maryland home the day before the raid on the Capitol. Three of the men pleaded guilty and the case against the fourth is ongoing. Prosecutors said the quintet entered the building through the Senate side, where they joined a mob that forced its way into a conference room adjacent to the office of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“They remained in the U.S. Capitol, enabling the disruption of U.S. Congressional proceedings along with other rioters, for over 30 minutes,” investigators told the court.
In a letter to the court, Lovley expressed regret for his “unbelievably irresponsible” actions and claimed he’d lost three jobs, been forced to move twice and saw meaningful personal relationships come to an end. His lawyer told the court the defendant relocated from Maryland for work after leaving the NSA.
More than 500 people have been sentenced for crimes against the country on Jan. 6.
With News Wire Services
