2 Months Behind Bars For Ex-CFD Lieutenant For Role In Jan. 6 Violence

WASHINGTON — A retired firefighter who admitted to bringing a weapon to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and assisting rioters attempting to forcibly enter the building was sentenced Friday to two months in federal prison.

Joseph Pavlik, 66, is a former Chicago Fire Department lieutenant and the uncle of the founder of the Florida-based militia-style organization called Guardians of Freedom. He pleaded guilty in August to two felony counts — entering a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon and civil disorder — in exchange for prosecutors dropping three others.

Pavlik dressed in tactical gear and brought chemical spay to the riot, according to court documents. He appeared to try to use it during confrontations with police defending the tunnel leading into the Capital building but fumbled it instead.

As he walked away, he handed the spray to another rioter, who took it and used it on the officers, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Ontell.

"When someone hands a triggerman a gun, he bears culpability for the shooting," Ontell said in a sentencing memo. "That principle clearly applies here, and although the Government does not seek years of imprisonment, the seriousness of the conduct does require a significant sentence of incarceration."

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Ontell had requested a sentence of 13 months imprisonment, while Pavlik's defense attorney, Lawrence Beaumont, asked for probation.

Prosecutors also pointed to his public statements in the wake of the riot.

“It’s past time," Pavlik said in an Oct. 20, 2021, Facebook comment. "We need an insurrection or a revolution and it has to be so convincing that the left will never raise their head above ground again.”

In addition to two months behind bars, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden sentenced Pavlik to six months of home confinement followed by two years of supervised release and a $6,000 fine.

Attorneys for Pavlik and the government had previously agreed to a $2,000 restitution, according to their respective memos to the judge ahead of Friday's hearing.

Earlier: Retired Chicago Firefighter To Be Sentenced Over Role At Capitol Riot