Fort Gibson man sentenced in Jan. 6 attack on US Capitol

Elizabeth Ridenour, Muskogee Phoenix, Okla.
·1 min read
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Oct. 20—A Fort Gibson man has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Jerry Ryals, 28, was sentenced Tuesday to nine months of incarceration, 36 months of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $2,000 restitution. He pleaded guilty on May 5 to Civil Disorder. He initially faced five charges for his involvement in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying the results of the presidential election.

Ryals, an apprentice electrician, and Anthony Alfred Griffith Sr., a Fort Gibson electrician, traveled together to Washington to take part in the Jan. 6 rally.

Griffith is charged with Obstruction of an Official Proceeding; 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; Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building.

Federal law enforcers arrested the men in March 2021 following an investigation that resulted with criminal complaints against the men being filed Feb. 22, 2021. A superseding indictment was filed the following month after prosecutors presented evidence to a federal grand jury empaneled in Washington.

Ryals and Griffith, according to court documents, were identified by tips turned in to the National Threat Operations Center following the Jan. 6 attack. The tipster and a relative reportedly recognized Ryals as "one of the people coming out of the U.S. Capitol Building" after it was breached by rioters.

The U.S. Department of Justice reports nearly 800 people from almost every state have been arrested for conduct related to the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol, which caused about $1.5 million in damage.

Griffith's case is pending.