Brady Knowlton, a defendant in the U.S. Capitol Building riot on Jan. 6, 2021 was reportedly told by the Capitol Police “You can go in, as long as you don't break anything.”
He now faces two decades in prison and that's not all, according to his lawyers.
His law degree has been withheld, Airbnb has banned him and his wife and U.S. Customs and Border Protection has stripped him of his Global Entry access for low-risk travelers.
Knowlton, a 40-year-old law student, allegedly came to D.C. to protest when he and a friend gained access to the Capitol Building through the entrance on the Upper West Terrace. To get there, Knowlton and others passed several police officers walking in the opposite direction.
That's not merely according to Knowlton but also footage and discovery materials reviewed by The Daily Wire.
According to court documents, Knowlton is being charged with knowingly entering and remaining in a restricted building. Prosecutors argue he “did knowingly, and with intent to impede and disrupt the orderly conduct of government business and official functions, engage in disorderly and disruptive conduct in and within such proximity to, a restricted building and grounds, that is, any posted, cordoned-off, and otherwise restricted area within the United States Capitol and its grounds, where the Vice President and Vice President-elect were temporarily visiting.” He “willfully and knowingly engaged in disorderly and disruptive conduct within the United States Capitol Grounds. He also “willfully and knowingly entered and remained in the gallery of either House of Congress, without authorization to do so.”
However, receiving express permission to enter from several police officers on the Capitol grounds seems to indicate that he was giving proper authorization to to enter the area, an argument that his legal team has leaned on, as well as arguing that this case could have major First Amendment implications.
Alan Dershowitz, an attorney for Knowlton, told The Daily Wire the following in an interview:
“He went to Washington to exercise his First Amendment right to petition the government for what he believed was a redress of grievances, and he's been lumped together with people who caused damage or who intended to obstruct. He wasn't intending to do that. He just intended to protest.”
Only time will tell if justice will prevail and if a man, who was nonviolently exercising his constitutional rights will spend 20 years in prison.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
These proceedings show the corruption of the prosecutors. If someone is allowed in by the police and the fact that they did not cause any damage and did not cause harm to anyone, they should be dismissed with some type of verbal warning.