Judge slams January 6 rioter for 'threatening' a Black cop with a Confederate flag and sentences him to 3 years in prison

• A Capitol rioter who toted a Confederate flag on January 6, 2021 was sentenced on Thursday.
• A federal judge sentenced Kevin Seefried to 36 months in prison.

A federal judge sentenced Kevin Seefried, a man who infamously toted a Confederate flag around the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, to 36 months in prison on Thursday, slamming Seefried's conduct as "appalling."

Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, found Seefried guilty of five charges, including obstruction of an official proceeding, disorderly conduct, illegally parading, and entering restricted Capitol grounds as Congress met to certify President Joe Biden's 2020 win.

"You participated in a national embarrassment," McFadden told Seefried as he handed down the sentence in federal district court in Washington, DC, adding that his behavior was a "flagrant affront to our system of government."

Seefried, a 53-year-old of Delaware, was convicted last summer along with his son, Hunter Seefried, 24, who also traveled to Washington, DC for then-President Donald Trump's "Save America" rally and unlawfully entered the Capitol on January 6. McFadden sentenced the younger Seefried to 24 months in prison in October.

Widely circulated images of Seefried wielding a Confederate flag in the Capitol halls have emerged as some of the most shocking from the January 6 attack. It's been more than two years since the deadly day, and at least 978 people have been charged in connection to it.

Seefried was among the mob that first broke into the building and whom Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman diverted from the Senate chamber, according to prosecutors and witness testimony. Goodman testified during the June 2022 trial that Seefried refused to comply with orders to "back up" and used "the base of his flag pole in a jabbing motion sort of to create space between he and I."

"He was very angry, screaming, talking loudly," Goodman said of Seefried. "The complete opposite of pleasant, if you will."

During Thursday's sentencing, McFadden focused on Goodman's encounter with Seefried, saying "threatening" an African American police officer with a Confederate flag was "demeaning," "especially shocking" and "deeply offensive."

And even setting aside the flag's racist connotations, McFadden said, brandishing a symbol of Confederate secession at the Capitol was "outrageous." Seefried's case was at the "most egregious end" of January 6 cases that McFadden has sentenced, the judge said.

Before the sentence was imposed, Seefried, dressed in a button-down shirt and tie, became emotional as he stood at the podium in the courtroom and apologized for his behavior on January 6.

"I know that I crossed the line," Seefried said. "I'm deeply sorry for my part on that day."

Seefried told the judge that he came to Washington with his son to attend Trump's rally and got "caught up" in the mob. He hadn't intended to engage in criminal activity and never would have done so had he known the consequences, Seefried said.

"I've lost my son," Seefried said, his voice growing shaky while fighting back tears.

Seefried also gave an apology to the police officers who defended the Capitol that day, saying: "I never wanted to send a message of hate."

The Justice Department, which has had a string of victories in prosecuting cases related to January 6, had sought a prison sentence of 70 months for Seefried.

Seefried's lawyer asked for a 13-month prison sentence, pointing out that his client's case differed from other January 6 rioters who had intentionally sought to obstruct the 2020 electoral certification process. In advocating for a lighter sentence, attorney Eugene Ohm noted Seefried's lack of criminal history or involvement in extremist groups, and claimed that Seefried had mimicked the behavior of the rioters around him at the Capitol.

While McFadden extended his appreciation for Seefried's remorse, which he called "genuine," he pushed back on characterizations that Seefried was simply a victim of "mob mentality."

"I think you did know what you were doing," McFadden said.

After he delivered the sentence, McFadden noted that Seefried was in a "dark period" and offered him some words of encouragement, telling him "not to allow this chapter define the rest of your life."

"Good luck to you, sir," McFadden told Seefried as he left the bench.