Former Bob's Burgers actor Jay Johnston has been sentenced to one year and one day in prison for his role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
In July, Johnston — who originated the role of Bob's nemesis, Jimmy Pesto Senior, on the series — pleaded guilty to a felony count of interfering with law enforcement officers during civil disorder. He was arrested in June 2023 after quickly being identified through FBI photos and body camera footage from the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPD) for his involvement in what prosecutors deemed some of the worst violence of the attack.
The actor reportedly spent about 10 minutes in the Lower West Tunnel that leads into the Capitol. "During that time, he: (1) helped at least four other rioters wash their eyes out after being sprayed with OC spray; (2) used a stolen United States Capitol Police riot shield to make a 'shield wall' against the police inside the tunnel; and (3) participated in 'heave-ho' push that pinned and crushed MPD Officer Daniel Hodges against a door frame," federal prosecutors wrote.
Despite Johnston's "clear knowledge of, and participation in, the violence used by rioters that day," the prosecution said that he "sent messages to friends and family in the days after January 6 claiming the events at the US Capitol were exaggerated by the media and that it was a 'setup' by the police and Antifa," as well as making light of the situation by dressing up as "QAnon Shaman" Jacob Chansley at a 2022 Halloween party.
Johnston told US District Judge Carl Nichols that his participation in the attack was a "horrible oversight." The judge (a Trump appointee) called the actor's conduct "problematic — reprehensible, really" and said that his statement failed to show remorse.
Johnston's legal representation argued that he had "essentially been blacklisted by Hollywood" in light of his role in the riot, having been fired from his Bob's Burgers gig back in December 2021. He made his final appearance on the show's Season 11 episode "The Bridge over Troubled Rudy," which aired on May 2, 2021, after which Eric Bauza replaced him as the voice of Pesto Senior.
As per NBC News, over 1,500 people have been arrested in connection to the January 6 attack to date, with prosecutors having secured convictions for more than 1,100 defendants so far. Among them is Iced Earth guitarist Jon Schaffer, who was sentenced to three years probation last week.