The U.S. Attorney’s Office reported that a South Carolina man involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach received a 60-day prison sentence. The court found Derek Cooper Gunby, 43, of Anderson guilty of four misdemeanor counts, which included entering and remaining in a restricted building and engaging in disorderly behavior in the Capitol building.
A federal jury in Washington, D.C., found Gunby guilty on November 13, 2023, according to the United States Attorney’s Office. On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman sentenced him to 12 months of supervised release, as well as a $1,500 fine.
Gunby drove from South Carolina to Washington, D.C., for the “Stop the Steal” event, according to the evidence presented at trial. He shared a photo of himself in fatigues riding the Metro early on January 6, 2021, captioned, “Up at Zero Dark Thirty to stop this steal.” After the event, witnesses observed Gunby entering restricted areas of the Capitol and recording his actions. “We are on the Capitol steps and attempting to storm the Capitol building.” A press statement from the US Attorney’s Office claims that Gunby’s recorded video captures him saying, “We’re taking the country back.”
Police evicted Gunby from the Capitol, but he brazenly remained on restricted grounds and continued to take additional photographs. “We have effectively encircled the Capitol,” he declared in a Metro video after the riot. The FBI detained Gunby in his home state on August 10, 2021.
The Jan. 6 inquiry resulted in charges against over 1,572 people from nearly all 50 states, including more than 590 people charged with felonies for assaulting or hindering police. The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia prosecuted Gunby’s case in collaboration with the Department of Justice’s National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, and the FBI’s Columbia and Washington Field Offices led the investigation. Officials say they are still investigating the Capitol breach and invite anyone with information to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or visit tips.fbi.gov.