The militia members were sentenced to five years in prison on Wednesday for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, in which supporters of former President Trump attempted to stop the peaceful transfer of power to President Biden.
Federal prosecutors say Dan Edwin Wilson, 48, of Kentucky, traveled to Washington, D.C., for weeks and planned to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6, the day Congress counted and certified the electoral votes that confirmed Biden's victory over Trump in the 2020 election.
According to court documents, during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, Wilson contacted members of the far-right extremist group Oath Keepers and members of the Three Percenters, informing them of the ongoing breach and asking them to “go all in.” Prosecutors said Wilson identified himself as a member of the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters' militia wing, the Gray Ghost Partisan Rangers.
He entered the Capitol wearing a gas mask just after 2:30 p.m. He has not been charged with committing any violent acts inside the Capitol.
Wilson pleaded guilty in May 2024 to conspiring to obstruct a police officer and committing injury. He also pleaded guilty to charges that authorities discovered illegal firearms in Wilson's home during the execution of a search warrant in June 2022.
Wilson told U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich that he regrets entering the Capitol on Jan. 6 but that he “did so in good faith,” the Associated Press reported.
“Our country was in chaos,” Wilson said, “and I believe it's still in chaos.”
Friedrich said there was “no doubt” that Wilson intended to interfere with Congress' certification of the electoral votes.
“He is not being punished for what he said that day. His words reflect his intentions,” the judge said, according to the Associated Press.
Prosecutors said Wilson began planning the Jan. 6 attack in the winter of 2020, pointing to messages he sent on encrypted social media platforms beginning in mid-December.
He discussed the possibility of bringing guns to the Capitol storming on Dec. 24, 2020, but ultimately said, “In my opinion, this is not the time to bring guns to the 6th. We need to get this over with.”
“But if Biden wins on the 20th, that's all going to fall apart,” Wilson continued. “Even if Trump wins, we have to control this government. If there's a civil war, the first thing that comes to mind is, do we take over Washington, D.C., or do we take over state capitals?”
“I am prepared to put my life at risk. It's time for good men to do bad things,” Wilson wrote on Dec. 27, 2020, according to prosecutors.
Wilson's lawyer, Norm Pattis, argued that his client genuinely believed the election was stolen from Trump and that he “did not plan an insurrection.”
“He took part in protests and was involved in incidents that turned violent,” Pattis added.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Mariano said that while Wilson did not commit any violent acts that day, “his role in preparing for acts of violence and helping organize the conspiracy makes him particularly dangerous.”
“Wilson sought violence and sought to enlist others in his violent goals,” Mariano said.
“Wilson's crime was an attack not only on the Capitol but on the United States and its system of government,” Mariano added. “He joined the mob in undermining a central feature of the American system: the peaceful transfer of power.”
The Associated Press contributed.
