Chicago police officer Karol Chwiesiuk avoids jail time for conviction in Capitol insurrection
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Chicago police officer and his sister, who were convicted for their role in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, avoided jail time on Wednesday as they were sentenced to home confinement and probation.
Karol Chwiesiuk and his sister, Agnieszka, were convicted of misdemeanor charges, including entering or remaining in a restricted building, disruptive conduct in a restricted building, and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building.
Federal prosecutors have said they were spotted on security footage breaking into the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as part of the mob that flooded the building that day during a joint session of Congress to affirm the Electoral College ballot count that showed Joe Biden had beaten Donald Trump.
At their sentencing hearing on Wednesday, Karol and Agnieszka both were sentenced to 3 months of home detention and 3 years of probation. Both also were ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.
The judge acknowledged it was a lenient sentence, explaining she didn't feel right sentencing them to prison, because they had no criminal history, they were in the Capitol for only eight minutes, and they were not violent.
It's a distinctively light sentence for a Jan. 6 defendant. More than 400 defendants convicted in the insurrection have been given prison time, including some with ties to law enforcement. Judges have counted that against some defendants, wanting to send a stronger message to former police officers who joined the riot.
During the sentencing hearing, the judge made an emphatic statement about the insurrection itself, saying in an hourlong statement Jan. 6 poses an ongoing threat to democracy, and drew parallels between the riot and the time of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. She said America's founding fathers would be appalled by Jan. 6, and by those who cloak themselves in the founding fathers.
As she sentenced Chwiesiuk, she wasn't sure she could convince him Trump did not win the 2020 election.
One of the contingencies of Karol Chwiesiuk's sentence is that he may not carry a firearm while on probation, which would complicate his efforts to return to active duty as a police officer.
Chwiesiuk's attorneys have told the judge in his case that he has been placed on unpaid leave from the Chicago Police Department, but has yet to be fired as an officer.
After his sentence was handed down, the officer made clear he's still a big supporter of former President Donald Trump "in a big way."
