WASHINGTON D.C., DC — With his father and fiancé in the courtroom, 21-year-old Elliot Bishai was sentenced to 14 days behind bars and one year of supervised release for his participation in the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Bishai, of Fort Mill, SC, pleaded guilty in April to entering and remaining in a restricted building. On videos submitted as evidence, Bishai can be heard yelling, "Civil War II!" and "Let's Go!" as he joined rioters inside the Capitol.
Judge Tanya Chutkan proceeded over the sentencing hearing Friday morning. She heard arguments from Grace Albinson with the U.S. Department of Justice and Don Brown, Bishai's attorney.
Albinson argued for 30 days of incarceration for Bishai, pointing to videos that Bishai 'saw blood' as he entered the Capitol and proceeded to walk with the crowd during the attack inside.
"He saw violence and destruction and kept going," Albinson said. "He knew the situation was dangerous...he climbed on statues in the rotunda."
Then-20-year-old Bishai was inside the Capitol for 27 minutes, according to court documents. But he was remorseful once he left the area, according to his defense attorney.
"I would ask you to consider Mr. Bishai's individual situation and who he was before Jan. 6 and what he did after," Brown told the judge. "Mr. Bishai is truly regretful and his actions [on Jan. 6] are an aberration of who he is."
Brown described Bishai as service-oriented, saying he served in the Marine Corps before going to the Capitol. Brown said Bishai is now a firefighter, traveling across the country to help the U.S. Forest Service.
Bishai also spoke before the court during the sentencing, admitting he was nervous.
"My heart is racing a little bit," Bishai said as he began giving his statement to the court. "I do apologize. If there was some way I could make this entire thing not have happened, I would. There’s nothing I could do about it. I sincerely apologize to the nation. And to the court. Thank you for hearing me."
Chutkan spoke at length about Bishai's case before providing her sentence.
She said her first issue with Bishai was, after viewing videos from the attack, it was clear Bishai "could smell the tear gas. He saw the lives of vastly outnumbered police officers who were doing their sacred duty to protect the Capitol...he saw that and yet he charged forward. That's the first issue."
Chutkan said even though Bishai stood up in court and said he wished he could take back his actions on Jan. 6, she didn't feel Bishai's remorse for the officers defending the Capitol that day.
"You weren't just caught up, you were egging others on, yelling encouragement and pushing and shoving," Chutkan told Bishai. "You weren't just curious to see what was going on...this wasn't just a wandering in and wandering out...your involvement was far from being a serious onlooker who wandered in to see what all the fuss was about."
Drawing on her personal experience as a mother of two children similar in age to Bishai, Chutkan told Bishai he was one of the youngest individuals to go before her in court. She acknowledged that he was "coming forward and taking responsibility."
"Your case is particularly difficult because of your age, what you've done with your life before and after," Chutkan said.
Bishai's attorney was working with the court to coordinate his incarceration to take place in a South Carolina facility.
Bishai is one of more than two dozen North and South Carolinians charged with their alleged connection to the Capitol attack. Several others have taken plea deals with the federal government.