Chicago Cop Convicted Over Role In Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Avoids Prison

CHICAGO — A Chicago police officer and his sister convicted of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol were sentenced Wednesday to home confinement and probation.

Karol Chwiesiuk, 32, and Agnieszka Chwiesiuk, 30, were convicted of the misdemeanor offenses of entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly or disruptive conduct and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

They turned down a plea deal, maintained their innocence and took the case to trial before a jury, which took less than a day to convict the pair last August.

In addition to the three months of house arrest, the Chwiesiuks were ordered to complete 200 hours of community service and pay $500 in restitution.

Federal prosecutors had sought a sentence of one year in prison for the Chicago cop and eight months for his sister, a national account manager at OTR Transportation.

Karol Chwiesiuk, a police officer who has been on unpaid leave since the Illinois State Police revoked his license to possess a gun, was acquitted of a separate charge of entering or remaining in a room designated for the use of a member of Congress.

Chwiesiuk wore a Chicago Police Department hoodie during the riot and took photographs of himself inside the office of Sen. Jeff Merkley. Unlike his sister, he testified in his own defense, claiming that he did not notice signs and barricades restricting access to the Capitol.

Despite the blaring alarm, broken windows and people smoking inside, Chwiesiuk said he thought it was OK for him to be inside the Capitol, according to a transcript of his testimony cited in court records.

"He testified that he believed that the hideaway office of a United States Senator was a smoking room because other rioters were smoking inside, yet even he called the idea that it was a smoke room 'unbelievable,'" prosecutors said in a letter to the judge.

At his sentencing hearing Wednesday, Chwiesiuk said the Jan. 6 Capitol breach was "tame" compared to what he witnessed in Chicago during rioting in the summer of 2020, which he said "desensitized" him, the Washington Post reported.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, an appointee of President Joe Biden, said the siblings did not deserve jail time because they had no criminal records, did not commit any violence inside the Capitol and were inside for less than 10 minutes, according to the Post. But the judge said she was "going to make it as painful as I can without going to prison.”

The Chwiesiuks are among more than 40 Illinois residents to be charged over their roles in the Capitol riot.

Karol Chwiesiuk is the only Chicago police officer to face charges. Before joining the department, he worked for the Cook County Sheriff's Office. While awaiting trial, he has worked as an unarmed private security guard.

"The fact that a Chicago police officer has been charged in that attack on American democracy makes my blood boil, makes me sick to my stomach," David Brown, then the superintendent of Chicago police, said at a news conference at the time of his June 2021 arrest. "And yes, if these allegations are true, it breaks my heart. Participating in the siege on the Capitol in any way was a betrayal of everything we stand for, the oath (and) the law."

Nishay Sanan, Agnieszka Chwiesiuk's defense attorney, said in a sentencing memo that his client believes that her prosecution is politically motivated and sending her to jail would not change her belief.

"The Chwiesiuks did not travel from Chicago to Washington D.C. because they wanted to break the law. They traveled to the Capitol to see Donald Trump speak and hear what he had to say about what they believe to be a stolen election," Sanan argued.

"Whether this Court sentences Ms. Chwiesiuk to a term of imprisonment or simply [probation], it is unlikely she will change her political outlook and beliefs related to her prosecution," he told the judge. "Given that, Ms. Chwiesiuk requests some leniency in light of the exceptionally low Guidelines range in this matter."

As of earlier this month, nearly 750 federal defendants have been sentenced for their role in the events of Jan. 6. About 467 of them have been sentenced to some jailtime, and more than 150 have been sentenced to a period of home detention, according to the Justice Department.

The FBI is still seeking to identify or apprehend several rioters involved in violent attacks on federal officers and members of the media.

Earlier:

• Fraternal Order Of Police Lobbies For Chicago Cop Charged In Capitol Insurrection
• Chicago Cop In Capitol Breech Said He Was Going to 'Save The Nation:' FBI