WASHINGTON — Four California men associated with the “Three Percenter” militia group and convicted in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol were taken into custody Friday after a judge ordered them to serve sentences ranging from 21 to 33 months in federal prison, far below what the government had requested.
Erik Scott Warner, Felipe Antonio Martinez, Derek Kinnison and Ronald Mele were all found guilty of criminal obstruction of an official proceeding and other charges following a trial last year. One of the co-defendants, former California police chief Alan Hostetter, was sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison in December. The trials featured testimony from co-defendant Russell Taylor, who pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal with the government.
The criminal charge for which they were convicted – obstruction of an official proceeding – is currently before the Supreme Court, where some of the judges appeared skeptical about the government’s use of the charge. A decision in this case is expected in the coming months. If the Supreme Court overturns the charge, two of the defendants could end up serving just 12 months in prison for their misdemeanor convictions.
The men communicated through a Telegram chat “The California Patriots – DC Brigade” and brought weapons on their trip to Washington to participate on Jan. 6, according to evidence presented at trial. They kept a shotgun in the car, and Kinnison and Mele claimed they kept five handguns in their hotel room “despite understanding it was illegal,” the government said. “We are only carrying one scatter gun and one pistol per piece,” Martinez joked, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors sought long sentences for the quartet, between 6.5 and eight years in federal prison, but Judge Royce Lamberth got much lower sentences within the guideline range.
Warner received 27 months after telling Lamberth he “got caught” by the mob and regretted his conduct. “I shouldn’t have been there,” he said, apologizing to his family for putting them “through hell.”
Martinez received 21 months in prison after saying he was “very sorry” and apologizing for his conduct, telling Lamberth he would “never see me back here.”
Kinnison was sentenced to 33 months in prison. He spoke of his love for God, family and country and said he admired the “Judeo-Christian principles upon which the country was founded.” He said he repented of his sins and asked for forgiveness for his sins and that he was praying for Lamberth and the prosecutors in the case.
Mele was also sentenced to 33 months. Prosecutors said he “awarded” his co-conspirators with a “Capitol Action Badge” a few weeks after Jan. 6, which prosecutors described as a “grossly modified version of a real military reward.” He said Jan. 6 “gave this country a black eye” that was still tender. Mele said he has stepped away from politics and that the experience of going through trial and seeing videos of some of the horrific violence at the Capitol “opened my eyes.” He said he did not condone what happened, calling it “stupid.”
The government requested eight years in prison for all defendants except Martinez, who they said should serve six and a half years.
The risks, Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Mariano argued, could not be much higher, and the defendants here were part of a “rare class” of Jan. 6 defendants who “worked together and had a plan” and were convicted of a criminal conspiracy. They came to Washington with “everything a soldier needs for battle,” he noted.
“There are 262 days left until January 6, 2025,” Mariano said on Friday, arguing that the penalty imposed “needs to consider January 6, 2025, 2029, 2033 and so on.”
More than 1,387 people have been charged in connection with the attack on the Capitol, with more than 984 defendants convicted. Of the more than 859 defendants convicted, more than 520 were sentenced to periods of incarceration ranging from a few days behind bars to 22 years in federal prison.
The overwhelming majority of defendants in custody on January 6 admitted their criminal conduct or were found guilty at trial; only about 15 defendants in pre-trial detention.
CORRECTION (April 20, 2024, 4:01 p.m.) An earlier version of this story misstated the number of men associated with the “Three Percenter” militia group who were taken into custody. There were four, not three.
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