Photo via @ryanjreilly/Twitter, @ProjectLincoln/Twitter
July 15, 2021, 11:34 am*
The feared leniency for many of the rioters who assaulted the U.S. Capitol on January 6 seems to be coming true, or at least it is in the case of Douglas Jensen, who was spotted in the viral video of insurrectionists chasing Officer Eugene Goodman up some stairs and away from where Congress was certifying votes. Jensen was one of the first to enter the Capitol building after taking footage of himself announcing that he was “touching the f—ing White House” because he was too ignorant to know what part of Washington D.C. he was even in.
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This is the reason that a judge has reportedly granted the release of Jensen prior to his trial in favor of home detention, saying that his actions couldn’t possibly have been premeditated because he “had no basic understanding of where he even was.”
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Conditions of his release include requirements to stay out of contact with others involved in the insurrection, and he will not be allowed any firearms, alcohol, or internet-capable devices. He also is not allowed in Washington D.C. except for his upcoming trial appearances.
Although pre-trial release like this is common, considered to be standard procedure unless the individual in question is considered a serious danger to others or to society, many Black individuals have been forced to rot behind bars awaiting trials for non-violent drug offenses. Meanwhile, this guy is free to go around touching the wrong buildings and making us all feel bad for sharing DNA with him, if not planning further violent attempted coups.
In another video, Jensen can be seen encouraging the people around him to storm the building, even though he was incorrect about which building it was.
“Storm the White House! That’s what we do!” he shouts.
Regardless, U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly has determined that Jensen is not a threat. Others feel that storming the White House is just as bad or worse than storming the Capitol and do not want either one to become what people like Jensen “do.”
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Jensen is an avid QAnon follower, as evidenced by his shirt, and is accused of carrying a knife into the Capitol on that fateful day. He faces charges of trespassing, disorderly conduct, violent entry, and obstructing a law officer, pleading not guilty to the charges despite the fact that court documents say he admitted to entering to building and refusing to obey Goodman’s orders.
The judge who initially ordered Jensen confined without bail still apparently considered him to be a threat based on his actions that day, even if he didn’t technically know where he was.
“Mr. Jensen allegedly traveled halfway across the country from Iowa to the District of Columbia, attended a rally in support of former President Trump, joined rioters by climbing through a broken window to enter the Capitol while armed with a knife, led a mob chasing Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman up a flight of stairs in a menacing fashion, threatened to take the officer’s baton, and refused to obey the officer’s lawful orders to stop and leave,” the judge argued.
*First Published: July 15, 2021, 11:33 am
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