A man from Clayton has been sentenced to 45 days in jail and three years on probation for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riots.
Blas Santillan, 27, was sentenced Friday by Judge Florence Pan of the Washington, D.C., District Court.
Santillan agreed to a deal in May that saw him plead guilty to a single misdemeanor charge, while three other misdemeanor charges he was facing were dropped. Under the deal, Santillan faced a maximum of up to six months in prison, five years of probation and $5,000 in fines for his involvement in the riots.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported Santillan's arrest in August 2021. His arrest came after the FBI found a video of him exiting the Capitol, followed by him encouraging the crowd to enter the Capitol building.
"It seems like you're that weak, because I'm the only one that was willing to do something," Santillan said during the riots, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia. "I'm the only one that was willing to kick that door. Who else is willing to storm in there? Americans do not sit by while people take your rights."
The AJC said Santillan originally asked for community service as punishment, but a number of previous criminal convictions led the presiding judge to the eventual sentence. Santillan had prior convictions for statutory rape, DUI and obstruction of police, as well as multiple probation violations.
A mixed martial arts fighter, Santillan was allowed by Judge Pan to compete in a fight in Tupelo, Miss., on Nov. 5. He then is expected to turn himself in to authorities in order to begin serving his sentence.
Santillan was the 12th Georgian to accept a plea deal for involvement in the incident, with a 13th following shortly thereafter. 22 people from Georgia had been arrested in connection with the riots at the time of writing.
