DENVER — A man who sent a coworker photos and video of himself inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty to a single charge in connection with the case, court documents show.
Daniel Morrissey pleaded guilty in February to parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. He was sentenced Tuesday to 45 days in prison and 36 months of probation, along with fines and restitution.
According to court documents, Morrissey, a self-employed writer, was living in Colorado when charges were filed against him in October. He was arrested in Denver on Nov. 4. He has since moved to Texas, according to court documents.
Morrissey was initially charged with:
- Entering and remaining in a restricted building or ground
- Disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds
- Disorderly conduct in a Capitol building
- Parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building
The remaining three charges were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
The plea carried a maximum sentence of six months imprisonment and five years of probation. Prosecutors initially asked the court to sentence Morrissey to 14 days imprisonment, but after seeing video evidence submitted to the court, they changed that request to 45 days.
"In the video, the defendant is acting in a more aggressive manner than previously recognized, and therefore the Government believes this revision is necessary to avoid unwanted sentencing disparities with other similarly situated defendants," prosecutors wrote.
> Content warning: The video below contains language that some viewers may find offensive.
"At one point, Morrissey is near the front of a mob of people pushing against several police officers attempting to prevent the crowd from entering a hallway," prosecutors wrote in sentencing documents. "It is unclear from the video whether Morrissey was actively pushing against the officers on his own accord, or if he was caught up in the mass of people. What is clear, however, is that would he would have known from at least this point forward that this was a violent event. Undeterred, Morrissey proceeds from there to the House Main Door, where he is part of a crowd chanting 'Stop the steal!' People near the front of the group were attempting to breach the door, with the crowd chanting 'Break it down!'"
According to court documents, on Jan. 6, Morrissey sent a coworker a picture of himself at the Lincoln Memorial. The person asked Morrissey if he was at the Capitol, and Morrissey responded with two photos, including a selfie, that appeared to be taken inside the Capitol, according to the plea agreement.
The next day, Morrissey sent the person a video of himself inside the Capitol, wearing the same hat and sunglasses as in the selfie, according to court documents. The crowd could be heard loudly chanting "USA" throughout the video. The plea agreement says Morrissey spent about 28 minutes inside the Capitol.
The recipient showed some of these photos to a coworker, who reported them to the FBI, according to court documents.
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