Two Mathews residents who participated in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 received one-month terms in home detention as well as other penalties during sentencing on Nov. 9 in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Doug Sweet of Gwynn, and Cindy Fitchett of Cobbs Creek, had each pleaded guilty to one count of “parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building” on Aug. 10 as part of a plea bargain that dismissed three additional charges against them. The remaining charge carried a maximum sentence of six months in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.

But the sentences requested by federal prosecutors were much more lenient. They asked for home detention for both defendants—three months for Sweet and two months for Fitchett—as part of a three-year probationary period for each, along with 60 hours of community service, and the payment of $500 in restitution.

Judge Carl J. Nichols largely granted the prosecution’s request, except for the home detention, which he reduced to one month in-home for each defendant. During detention, they will be allowed to leave their homes only for legal and medical visits, work, religious services, and community service. Sweet will also be required to submit to drug testing at least three times during his probationary period. The sentences will be overseen by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The Nov. 9 hearing was held electronically, with the defendants, their counsel, and the judge all joining by video. The public joined by telephone audio.

U.S. Trial Attorney Seth Meinero explained the prosecution’s reasons for asking for longer home detention periods for each of the defendants. In the government’s sentencing memorandum, he described the Jan. 6 incursion on the Capitol as “a violent attack that forced an interruption of the certification of the 2020 Electoral College vote count, threatened the peaceful transfer of power … injured over 100 law enforcement officers, and resulted in over $1.4 million worth of property damage.” In oral arguments, he said further that it was “a singularly shameful event that was repugnant to the republic.”

“Every person who participated bears responsibility,” he said.

However, he characterized Fitchett’s role in the incursion as “toward the lower end of the spectrum.” He outlined her behavior that day, pointing out both the aggravating and mitigating factors.

While there was no evidence there was prior planning on her part, he said, a video she made of herself that day shows she “enthusiastically participated.” In the video, taken on the steps of the Capitol, she shouted, “We’re storming the Capitol! We’re breaking in! Patriots arise! Woo!” In addition, she admitted to investigators that she was aware there was “a ruckus and an angry mob,” and that she saw a noose. She and Sweet entered the Capitol shortly after multiple police officers had been assaulted and had retreated down a stairwell in the Capitol Visitors Center, said Meinero, and she could see chairs strewn around, a man wielding a baseball bat, and men beating the walls with poles.

Mitigating factors, said Meinero, included that Fitchett had no criminal background, that she consented to an interview and a search of her cell phone, and that, according to her, she had told others in the Capitol building not to destroy things. She did not participate in violent behavior, he said, and she expressed remorse for what she did.

Sweet, too, saw what was unfolding as they approached the Capitol, said Meinero, including a rioter breaking into a window, which he took a picture of. And while Sweet did not participate in any violent behavior and said that he, too, had told others not to destroy things, Meinero said that Sweet told the FBI that he had gone to the Capitol to “speak to the House and Senate.” The day following the breach, Sweet told a television news reporter that when he arrived at the Capitol, “he realized he might have to force his way in.” When the reporter asked if he knew he couldn’t speak to Congress by storming the Capitol, Sweet asked, “What recourse do we have? They wouldn’t listen to us.”

“This was evidence (Sweet) had a political motivation—an agenda,” said Meinero. In addition, he said, Sweet elevated his profile by consenting to a television interview.

Mitigating factors for Sweet, said Meinero, were that he consented to an interview and a search of his phone, and he voluntarily was interviewed a second time. However, up until Monday, Sweet was the only one of the six people arrested together that day who had not expressed remorse for participating in the Capitol breach, said Meinero.

Mitigating factors for both defendants were pointed out by their attorneys. Fitchett’s attorney, Peter Greenspun of Greenspun Shapiro PC, mentioned letters of support for Fitchett from the Mathews community, as well as her faithful care for her husband, who has medical needs. He said that, while some participants in the attack on the Capitol went “planning mayhem, with violence in mind” and seeking to “cause damage to the building,” thousands of others went, as Fitchett did, “to be energetic in the manner of the president—to protect and express their First Amendment rights—and had no idea of storming the Capitol or going where they weren’t supposed to go.”

He pointed out further that Fitchett had subsequently shared no social media posts about that day and had declined all media interviews. He said the arrest and being held in jail were “a punishing process” that had a big impact on Fitchett and that she had said multiple times that she made the wrong decision that day and the responsibility was her own.

Sweet’s attorney, federal public defender Cara Halverson, said she watched on Jan. 6 as people did things that were “wildly unpatriotic” and that the events of that day “broke many of our hearts.” But she pointed out that Sweet had raised two daughters by himself and was both a grandfather and a great-grandfather who “is devoted to his community and his church.” She said he came from a humble background, and that he had quit his job in order to care for his mother when she became ill, earning money by taking on odd jobs mowing lawns in the summer and chopping firewood in the winter.

“He’s not a monster; he’s not a racist,” she said. “He’s not a danger to society.”

Halverson said that an interview with a reporter shouldn’t be used to judge Sweet, since it was clear that the video only contained a portion of what was said. Later, when interviewed by the FBI, she said, he stated that he didn’t intend to go into the Capitol beforehand. She said he didn’t break or steal anything, assault anyone, or resist arrest, and he didn’t consider himself a victim.

Both Fitchett and Sweet spoke on their own behalf, as well. Fitchett tearfully told the judge that it had been difficult living in a small town since Jan. 6 because “you go somewhere and give your name, and ask yourself, ‘Do they know me from high school, or from Jan. 6?’”

She said she went that day to be with a girlfriend who wanted to see the president. She said she didn’t remember much about the day until the time she was placed in handcuffs. Describing herself as “a God-fearing woman,” Fitchett spoke of helping others—of “always going somewhere to do something for someone.”

“I’m a good person,” she said. “I have a wonderful, forgiving family. The hard part is forgiving myself … I’m totally embarrassed and have complete remorse. If I could go back, I would do things differently.”

Sweet spoke of his love for his country, saying he had “studied the government, watched the government, seen the government change, and seen the tides swing.”

“I would like to return America to my childhood,” he said. “There’s turmoil all over the country.”

Sweet said he had no intention of going into the Capitol, “but it happened, and I take responsibility. I do have remorse. I wish I’d never gone. But I did, and I take responsibility. Whatever you do, you can’t blame on anyone else. It’s part of being a man. Whatever sentence you give me, I’ll serve it out honorably.”

After briefly retiring to his chambers, Judge Nichols returned and recounted the arguments of both sides, including aggravating and mitigating factors, and he said he not only had to consider individual circumstances of the various defendants, but also how they relate to each other.

“People protesting usually aren’t breaking the law unless they’re trespassing,” he said. “Dozens have already been charged and sentenced, with sentences ranging from six months of incarceration to two months of probation.”

But he said that probation without more shouldn’t “be the default” and he characterized Fitchett and Sweet’s conduct as “in the low to middle of severity and culpability.” Although they didn’t take part in the destruction that occurred at the Capitol, he said, “they were part of a group that did collectively cause harm, so it’s appropriate that they pay restitution.”

For Sweet, the judge waived the fees usually required for drug testing, and for both defendants he waived the home detention fees usually required.