Oklahoma legislator asks judge for compassion for Trump supporter charged in Capitol riot

Nolan Clay, Oklahoman
·2 min read
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State Rep. Kevin Wallace wrote a letter of support for a Chandler man who illegally demonstrated inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Tanner Bryce Sells, 26, is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday by videoconference in federal court in Washington, D.C.

He is one of seven Oklahomans who were arrested as a result of the investigation into the storming of the U.S. Capitol. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in September for his involvement.

Wallace, R-Wellston, asked U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson for "your compassion in this process."

Tanner Bryce Sells texted this photo of himself inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to another individual, prosecutors told a judge.
Tanner Bryce Sells texted this photo of himself inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to another individual, prosecutors told a judge.

The legislator told the judge that Sells owns his own construction company and is the proud father of a 2-year-old boy.

"I've known his mother, Kristin Sells, and family for more than twenty years," he wrote in a Jan. 4 letter. "He is and has been a contributing citizen in our small community."

Prosecutors are asking the judge to sentence Sells to 14 days incarceration, followed by 36 months of probation and 60 hours of community service. He already has agreed to pay $500 in restitution.

"As this Court knows, a riot cannot occur without rioters, and each rioter’s actions — from the most mundane to the most violent — contributed, directly and indirectly, to the violence and destruction of that day," prosecutors told the judge.

Sells' attorney is asking for 12 months of probation.

Wallace
Wallace

Sells was inside the U.S. Capitol for a little more than five minutes after attending a rally headlined by then-President Donald Trump, the attorney wrote in a sentencing memo.

Sells drove with members of his church to attend the rally.

"It is probably unproductive to discuss the inflammatory nature of the rally and the comments of the speakers that led to the assault. Certainly, others have dissected the speeches and raised concerns that the rally incited the violence at the Capitol," Assistant Federal Public Defender Kyle E. Wackenheim told the judge.

"While it may not excuse the actions of individuals such as Mr. Sells, it helps explain how thousands of otherwise law-abiding American citizens marched nearly two miles to the United States Capitol Building demanding immediate action."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Wallace asks for 'compassion' in Capitol riot case