The Jan. 6 rioter who recorded the fatal shooting of Ashli Babbitt inside the U.S. Capitol was sentenced to six years in prison on Friday and ordered to forfeit more than $90,000 he earned selling the video.
John Earle Sullivan, 29, was also also ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution for his role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump, TV station WUSA9 reported.
During Friday's court proceeding, U.S. District Royce Lamberth said the Salt Lake City resident — whom he labeled a "chaos agent" — stood out because he didn't storm the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to support of Trump but instead was there to profit off the violence.
Lamberth also accused Sullivan of trying to use the "protective veneer of journalist" to mask his true intentions, WUSA9 reported.
"He wanted to exploit others to sow chaos and undermine our system of government," the judge said.
Sullivan — who was recorded using a bullhorn to instigate the mob — has a history of activism that includes involvement with both the racial justice movement and the right-wing Proud Boys, according to WUSA9.
Babbitt, an Air Force veteran, was shot by a Capitol Police officer while attempting to climb through the broken window of a door to the Speaker's Lobby as members of Congress fled the mob that disrupted certification of President Joe Biden's victory over Trump in the 2020 election.
Babbitt was among five people who died during or immediately after the attack, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was injured while fighting with rioters.
Authorities previously seized the money Sullivan made selling his video of Babbitt's shooting to several news outlets.
During a November trial, Sullivan testified that he was a "neutral observer" during the storming of the U.S. Capitol, WUSA9 reported at the time.
But a federal jury convicted him on seven counts, including obstructing an official proceeding and obstructing officers during a civil disorder.
Defense lawyer Steven Kiersch asked Lambert to recommend that Sullivan serve his sentence in a low-security prison close to his home state of Utah, WUSA9 reported.
