Covington man sentenced for role in Capitol riots

He pleaded guilty to six charges in October

A Covington man was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to charges related to the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021.

Joshua Haynes was sentenced to a total of five years in prison and six years of probation.

Haynes was arrested on six federal charges in July for his alleged involvement in the Capitol riots. He pleaded guilty in federal court on Oct. 28.

We previously reported that the criminal complaint against Haynes revealed that authorities believe he was one of the individuals responsible for helping destroy equipment belonging to the media and is the individual wearing the Harley Davidson jacket in the below video.

Authorities believe that he then later entered the U.S. Capitol and video captured him in the Capitol Crypt, still wearing the Harley Davidson jacket with a yellow bandana around his neck and an American flag bandana tied around his left bicep.

Selfies the FBI says Joshua Haynes took and sent to others on Jan. 6, 2021. (FBI)

The FBI received a tip that the man depicted in photos from Jan. 6 was indeed Joshua Haynes by matching those photos to that of a Parler profile.

While the FBI agent wasn’t able to directly interact with that profile, court records show that Parler records provided an email address, phone number and an IP address that resolved to Covington, Virginia, in connection with that account.

Another video shows the man authorities believe is Haynes helping to remove an air-conditioning unit from a building outside the U.S. Capitol.

On July 27, Haynes was arrested at his home in Covington and was been charged for assaulting a family member, officials said.

Haynes is one of four people from Southwest Virginia who have been arrested in connection to the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. The other three men are Thomas Robertson, Jacob Fracker and Jeremy Groseclose.


About the Author

Lauren Helkowski joined WSLS 10’s digital team in August 2022, but has held a passion for storytelling long before.

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