If you haven’t heard the name John Strand, here is a brief recap of his story:
Strand attended the Capitol on January 6 as the friend and bodyguard of Dr. Simone Gold, who was scheduled — and legally permitted — to speak on Capitol grounds that day. However, when the Oathkeepers and Strand escorted Dr. Gold to her speaking location, the chaos at the Capitol had already begun.
While Strand and Gold were uninvolved in the breaching of the Capitol building and never once participated in violence, they made the mistake of entering the building along with the crowd. They entered and departed peacefully like so many thousands of others, but this was enough to land both of them in hot water with the DOJ.
Both Stand and Gold were some of the first to be arrested and charged with four misdemeanors as well as the 1512 felony. While Gold took a plea deal, involving 60 days in prison, Strand, outraged by the obvious injustice, fought the charges. For his resistance, he was convicted on all charges and sentenced to 32 months in prison.