A former Carnegie Mellon University student who invaded the Capitol with the pro-Trump mob on Jan. 6, 2021, has been sentenced to 14 days in jail and probation.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced Thomas Carey in early June, although the docket entry was incorrect as to the jail term and the judge’s staff refused to answer any questions about it. Carey’s lawyer also didn’t respond to questions.
But the docket entry was amended last week to reflect that Carey, 22, must serve 14 days in jail for seven weekends starting in late June. He will also serve three years of probation in the Charlotte, N.C., area and pay $500 in restitution.
Carey, a New York City native raised on Long Island who had been a computer science student at CMU when the insurrection occurred, entered the Capitol with four friends and wandered around for half an hour.
He was convicted of misdemeanor charges of parading in a Capitol building.
He and his lawyer had asked for a year of unsupervised probation and community service, arguing that he didn’t engage in violence or property damage.
Federal prosecutors asked for two months in jail and three years of probation.
Prosecutors said Carey’s friends had all met at a right-wing America First rally. Carey didn’t attend, but the U.S. attorney’s office said he had previously been involved with the organization.
The five of them entered the building at 2:16 p.m. Carey left at 2:50.
Carey’s lawyer said he didn’t join in any violent protests and doesn’t subscribe to far-right views.
Video surveillance footage shows him and the others near then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, although Carey said he didn’t know where he was in the building at the time and was following one of his friends.
The FBI identified Carey in part through his mother’s social media profile, which showed a picture of him and two of the friends on a wilderness hike. Agents later linked Carey’s phone with a Venmo account connected to the others.
The Pittsburgh FBI set up surveillance on him in Oakland on Sept. 1 and arrested him two weeks later.
Carey is one of some two dozen people living in Western Pennsylvania to have been charged in the insurrection.
Overall, more than 1,000 people across the U.S., from every state, have been arrested. The FBI is continuing to make arrests.
Torsten covers the courts for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Reach him at jtorsteno@gmail.com.
