Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 31
- Location
- New Hyde Park, New York
- Charges
- Civil Disorder; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building; Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building
- Case status
- Pleaded guilty; Dismissed in part or full; Sentenced
- Presidential action
- Pardon
Case Summary
On Jan. 6, 2021, Eric Gerwatowski opened the upper House doors of the U.S. Capitol Building, yelled "Let's Go!" and directed rioters inside before entering, according to an FBI statement of facts. Moments before, two officers had unsuccessfully tried to secure those doors. Court records indicate that in order to identify Gerwatowski, the FBI reviewed crowdsourced information shared on Twitter by the account @SeditionHunters and media organized by Twitter users using the hashtag #lordlonghair. Tipsters who knew Gerwatowski also contacted the FBI, according to court documents. Those tipsters identified Gerwatowski in social media photos and video that allegedly showed him both outside and inside the Capitol. The tipsters, who alleged that Gerwatowski had admitted to entering the Capitol, also gave law enforcement agents Gerwatowski's phone number, which subpoena results confirmed. Additionally, a search warrant served on Google produced geolocation data showing that Gerwatowski's phone was present at the Capitol on Jan 6, 2021, according to court documents.
Case History
Gerwatowski pleaded Guilty to one charge: Civil Disorder. The other charges are dismissed. Sentenced on 3/9/2023 to 24 months of probation; 30 days location monitoring; 60 hours of community service; $100 Special Assessment; Restitution of $2,000. Gerwatowski received a full pardon on January 20, 2025
Sources
- Primary Documentation
NPR Jan. 6 Defendant DatabaseNPR - Primary Documentation
Underlying court recordCourt record linked by NPR
Case summary, charges, procedural updates and image are drawn from the NPR Jan. 6 archive snapshot dated 2026-09-25 unless otherwise indicated.