Victorville gym owner agrees to plead guilty, pay damages for his part in Jan. 6 Capitol riot

A Victorville gym owner who participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot has agreed to plead guilty to one of his alleged crimes as part of an agreement with the government.

Jacob Lewis will plead guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building at a sentencing hearing scheduled for April 14, according to the plea deal signed earlier this month.

He faces up to six months in prison, a term of probation no longer than five years and a fine of no more than $5,000, depending on a judge’s decision.

As part of the agreement, Lewis’s other charges — some of which carry a greater punishment — will be dismissed: entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, and violent entry and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building.

He will also be required to pay $500 in restitution to the Architect of the Capitol — the federal agency responsible for the upkeep of the U.S. Capitol Complex — for damages caused during the attack more than a year ago.

The overall damage is estimated to be close to $1.5 million, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Dan Eckhart, an attorney representing Lewis, said his client would not be speaking to the media until after he is sentenced.

“He pled guilty to a Class B misdemeanor with a maximum term of 6 months in jail,” Eckhart wrote in an email Wednesday.

Lewis is one of more than 700 people who have been charged so far for playing a part in the insurrection, which left five people dead, including a police officer, and sent elected members of Congress and Vice President Mike Pence fleeing for safety.

The local business owner had already generated controversy in 2020 when he re-opened The Gym HD on May 1 despite health orders requiring that gyms remain closed to help stem the spread of COVID-19.

Two days after the Jan. 6 riot, authorities said FBI agents from the Riverside office received a tip that Lewis had flown from Victorville to Washington D.C. “to attack the Capitol, along with many Trump supporters, to stop the certification of the electoral college.”

The tipster said Lewis had posted videos from the Capitol on his personal Instagram account.

A friend of Lewis also reported him to the FBI.

The friend said Lewis had told them to “watch what happens to the Capitol on the 6th” and had shown them pictures of firearms and asked if they could get him ammunition, according to a criminal complaint.

But the friend also said they had not seen Lewis with any guns and did not hear him make any threats of violence regarding Jan. 6.

Lewis’ lawyers argued in a successful motion last month to allow him to travel to Cancún for a friend’s wedding that no facts had been provided to indicate their client “was involved in any violence towards police or destroyed government property” during the riot.

FBI agents interviewed Lewis at his home nine days after the attack, where he admitted traveling to Washington D.C. to attend President Trump’s rally.

Lewis said he then walked to the Capitol and entered the building with other people after being breached. He also described clothing the FBI said he was wearing in surveillance videos that showed him entering “the Senate Wing Door” at about 2:56 p.m.

Lewis was in the building for about seven minutes before exiting another door.

In the initial complaint, Lewis claimed that he had been “‘escorted’ by the Police in the building.”

"He stated that he did not partake in any violence while he was in the building and that he believed that some individuals involved in agitating were Antifa members in disguise,” an FBI agent wrote.

As part of the plea agreement, however, Lewis had to acknowledge that he “knew at the time he entered the U.S. Capitol Building that he did not have permission to enter the building and the defendant paraded, demonstrated or picketed.”

Daily Press reporter Martin Estacio may be reached at 760-955-5358 or MEstacio@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_mestacio.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Victorville gym owner agrees to plead guilty for Jan. 6 riot