What Did 'Bob's Burgers' Star Jay Johnston Actually Do at the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot?

Almost four years after the infamous Jan. 6 riot, during which droves of Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol Building in order to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power after Trump's loss in the 2020 election, those involved are finally beginning to see legal consequences for their actions.

One man in particular, Bob's Burgers voice actor Jay Johnston, was just sentenced to one year in prison for his role in what many consider to have been an attempted coup.

In his sentencing, more details about his involvement have come to light, leaving folks curious — what exactly did Jay do during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot?

Jay Johnston was arrested for his involvement in Jan. 6 back in July 2023 — but the repercussions of his actions began well before that when he lost his role as Jimmy Pesto on the hit animated show Bob's Burgers.

His presence at the insurrection was well-documented, and he even "made light of his participation in the riot" at a 2022 Halloween party where he dressed as a man known as the "QAnon Shaman," a key figure in the right-wing movement to storm the Capitol Building.

Jay initially pled guilty to a "felony offense of obstructing officers during a civil disorder," per NBC. But what did he actually do?

According to prosecutors, Jay "spent about 10 minutes in the lower west tunnel that leads into the Capitol, where some of the worst violence of the attack took place."

"During that time," they wrote, "he (1) helped at least four other rioters wash their eyes out after being sprayed with OC spray; (2) used a stolen United States Capitol Police riot shield to make a 'shield wall' against the police inside the tunnel; and (3) participated in 'heave-ho' push that pinned and crushed MPD Officer Daniel Hodges against a door frame."

He also cracked jokes with the other rioters around him and used his cell phone to film the ensuing violence, per NPR.

In the days following the riot, Jay reportedly sent text messages to multiple friends and family members about his participation, though he tried to insist that the media had exaggerated the extent of the incident.

“The news has presented it as an attack. It actually wasn’t. Thought it kind of turned into that. It was a mess,” Johnston wrote to an acquaintance, per NPR.

While his felony charge carries a maximum sentence of up to five years, Jay was only sentenced to one — though prosecutors initially pushed for an 18-month sentence.

Jay's lawyer has argued that the star is being persecuted "because he is an acclaimed Hollywood actor, and the government is using his status to make a point to the public."

For his part, Jay has expressed some regret that his actions "made it more difficult for the police to do their job."

"That was because of my own ignorance, I believe,” he told U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols. “If I had been more political, I could have seen that coming, perhaps.”