Due to her involvement in the Capitol disturbance on January 6, 2021, a former Uniontown resident will spend two years in federal prison.
In Morganfield, Kentucky, Shelly Stallings was sentenced on Friday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
Stallings must complete her prison sentence as well as three years of supervised release. She is permitted to self-report to start fulfilling her punishment.
Forklift driver Stallings entered a guilty plea to seven charges in August, including civil disorder, attacking, obstructing, or restraining an officer with a dangerous weapon, and entering and remaining in a restricted structure or area with a dangerous weapon.
The government claims Stallings and her now-divorced husband, Peter Schwartz, left their Uniontown home and traveled to the Stop the Steal event in Washington, D.C.
Around 2:00 p.m., Schwartz and Stallings joined the rest of the crowd in traveling from the rally to the Capitol.
Stallings allegedly witnessed Schwartz toss a metal chair at a group of police officers, who then momentarily withdrew, leaving their supply of pepper spray unsecured. The officers were sprayed by Schwartz after he seized the canisters.
Schwartz offered his wife a canister as well. She claimed to have sprayed it for about four seconds before returning it to him and telling him, “‘I’m not doing this.'”
The defense claims that video proves Stallings spent just under five minutes in the tunnel.
At 3:14 p.m., she can be seen squeezing through the mob to get out.
The prosecution claimed that Stallings first misled investigators about her involvement in the incident and requested 51 months in federal prison as well as three years of supervised release in its sentencing brief.
Here is statement posted by FBI Washington Field on their official Twitter account:
Pennsylvania Man Sentenced to 52 Months in Prison for Assaulting Police Officers with a Dangerous Weapon During January 6 U.S. Capitol Breach https://t.co/Pb7rwUCcGL@USAO_DC
— FBI Washington Field (@FBIWFO) April 11, 2023
However, the defense sought less, arguing that Stallings only went to the protest because her husband, whom she professed to fear, forced her to. She finally cooperated with investigators, even offering to testify against Schwartz, according to the defense, who claimed that she had no intention of entering the Capitol.
Schwartz will be sentenced on May 5 after a jury found him guilty in December.
The defense requested a sentence consisting of one day in jail, and three years of supervised release, with the first year being spent in home detention.
“Ms. Stallings has owned up to her conduct, admitted it to others, and accepted full responsibility for it. She fully understands the wrongfulness of her conduct; is motivated and, indeed, eager to change; and will do whatever is necessary to make certain that she does not re-offend,” her attorney wrote.
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