A man who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and stole a photo of the late civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis from then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office was sentenced to more than four years in prison on Friday.
Kevin Lyons, 40, was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison after he was found guilty in April of six federal charges, including a felony charge of obstruction of an official proceeding.
Lyons traveled from his home in Chicago to the Capitol, posting on his Instagram a screenshot of a map tracing the route, according to his charging documents. His caption read: “I refuse to tell my children that I sat back and did nothing. I am heading to DC to STOP THE STEAL!”
After entering the Capitol on Jan. 6, Lyons yelled out Pelosi’s name as he walked to her office, according to a sentencing memo from prosecutors.
“Nancy, where are you? Nancy!” he shouted.
After entering her office, Lyons stole the photo of Lewis. He also recorded himself as he stole a wallet from a staff member’s jacket. In an Instagram post that he later deleted but was recovered by investigators, Lyons posted a photo of a wooden plaque with Pelosi’s name on it. The caption read: “WHOS HOUSE?!?!? OUR HOUSE!!”
After leaving the Capitol, Lyons texted a group of friends a photo of himself with the stolen photograph, prosecutors said.
“I took this off Pelosi’s fucking desk!! We fucking did it!!” he texted. Twelve minutes later, he sent another text: “I’m pretty confident I am now a multiple Federal felon.”
During an interview with the FBI back at his home in Chicago, Lyons offered to share his recordings with investigators. On Jan. 9, Lyons emailed an FBI agent videos he took inside the Capitol and posted to YouTube.
“Hello nice FBI Lady, here are the links to the videos,” he wrote.
Lyons was arrested the following week.
During his sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell blasted Lyons for joining the mob and calling officers at the Capitol “fucking Nazi bastards!” and “SS!” NBC News reported.
“It was the mob that was more like the Nazis and the fascists that day,” Howell said.