Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Location
- Silver Spring, Maryland
- Charges
- Civil Disorder; Obstruction of an Official Proceeding; Destruction of Government Property; 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; Act of Physical Violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings
- Case status
- Pleaded guilty; Dismissed in part or full; Sentenced
- Presidential action
- Pardon
Case Summary
Joshua Pruitt was initially arrested for breaking a citywide curfew in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021. Police had asked a group on the Capitol Grounds to disperse, and when Pruitt and others didn’t comply, court documents say, he was arrested. It was only while he was being processed that D.C. police noticed that he appeared to be a person pictured entering the Capitol on a Washington Post website. Pruitt was read his Miranda rights, waived them and spoke to investigators, telling them that he was indeed the person in the photograph and that he had gone into the Capitol, but didn’t engage in any unlawful activity. Rather, the court documents say he told investigators, he was trying to de-escalate the situation inside.
Case History
Pruitt pleaded Guilty to one charge: Obstruction of an Official Proceeding. The other charges are dismissed. Sentenced 8/29/2022 to 55 months incarceration; 3 years supervised release; $2,000 restitution; $100 special assessment. Pruitt 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.