Former police chief sentenced to 11 years for role in Jan. 6 riot

Dec. 7 (UPI) -- A former state police chief in California was sentenced Thursday to more than 11 years in federal prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots.

Alan Hostetter called for the execution of then President Donald Trump's political enemies, joined the attack on the U.S. Capitol, then spread conspiracy theories about Jan. 6.

He was found guilty of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, entering or remaining on restricted grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon and disorderly or disruptive conduct on restricted grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon.

An attorney for the Justice Department called Hostetter "a terrorist" for his actions on Jan. 6, recounting Hostetter's comments in the days before the attack, in which he allegedly said, "Choke that city off. Fill it with patriots." He urged others to "put the fear of God into members of Congress," the attorney said.

"And they're gonna realize, we have one choice," Hostetter said in a speech before the attack on the U.S. Capitol. "We either fix this mess and keep America America, or we become traitors, and those 5 million people outside the walls are gonna drag us out by our hair and tie us to a f---ing lamppost. That's their option," he continued.

"Some people, at the highest levels, need to be made an example of: an execution or two or three," Hostetter said in a video he recorded in November 2020. "Tyrants and traitors need to be executed as an example so nobody pulls this s--- again."

Hostetter, who was found to have carried a hatchet during the attack, also founded a group called the American Phoenix Project, which protested COVID-19 restrictions and denied the 2020 election results.

He recorded a video after Trump lost the election in which he said that "traitors need to be executed" and said Jan. 6 was the final day for patriots to take a stand.

Like other election deniers, Hostetter has contended that "the election was stolen. You have presidential candidates saying that openly during the debate," Hostetter said. "At some point, the truth is going to be coming out."

He was referring to GOP presidential candidate Vivak Ramaswamy's comments during the Republican debate in Alabama on Wednesday during which the candidate called the Jan. 6 attack an "inside job," a line of baseless allegations that have been gaining more traction among far-right candidates and conspiracy theorists.

Hostetter pointed to Ramaswawmy's comments that his beliefs are no longer "fringe" theories and said during his trial of the Jan. 6 attacks that "the entire thing was staged."

Federal prosecutors sought more than 12.5 years in federal prison for Hostetter, saying he conspired, collected weapons and traveled to Washington with a premeditated plan of using the threat of violence to stop the peaceful transfer of power.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Mariano said during a hearing Thursday that Hostetter had made himself a "poster child for Jan. 6 conspiracy theories" and that he spent time "promoting the dangerous lie that Jan. 6 was a false flag operation."

Hostetter drove from California to Washington, D.C., prior to the Jan. 6 riot rather than fly "so that he could load his car with weapons."

Prosecutors said he joined other protesters the morning of the attack and brought "tactical gear, a helmet, hatchets, knives, stun batons, pepper spray and other gear for himself and others."

Prosecutors said Hostetter attended Trump's speech that prompted the insurrection on Jan. 6 before walking to the Capitol with a hatchet in his backpack.

Hostetter was the chief of the La Habra, Calif., Police Department in 2010.