A Hardin County man has been sentenced for his role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol
William “Jessie” Stover, 47, of Elizabethtown, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with civil disorder, a felony offense. He was also charged with misdemeanor offenses of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, and impeding passage through the Capitol grounds or buildings.
Stover was arrested in July 2023.
He was sentenced to six months in prison, 36 months of supervised release and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia.
According to court documents, Stover was identified on closed-circuit television video and police body-camera footage at the U.S. Capitol building and grounds on January 6. In the footage, Stover can be seen pushing against a police line and aiding other rioters in fighting police officers near an entrance to the Capitol building at the lower west terrace tunnel.
At approximately 3:16 p.m., court documents say Stover arrived at the tunnel entrance and joined with others in a push against the police line. Stover and the other rioters were eventually expelled from the tunnel entrance by police. Court documents, though, indicate Stover and others returned to once again push against police at the tunnel entrance.
Stover, according to prosecutors, grabbed onto the side of the tunnel entrance in an effort to leverage his weight and to push against police. He then grabbed the side of the tunnel, hoisted himself up, and reached over the heads of the other rioters to grab the helmet of the nearest police officer.
A short while later, court documents state that Stover received a U.S. Capitol Police riot shield which he handed to another rioter who had climbed up behind him. That rioter took the shield and used it to attack police.
Stover remained at the entrance to the tunnel as the rioters fought police for about twenty more minutes. At about 4:10 p.m., he was pushed away from the mouth of the tunnel by the crowd.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
