“Bob’s Burgers,” “Arrested Development” and “Mr. Show” comedian Jay Johnston has been sentenced to one year and a day in prison for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Johnston was convicted of a felony for his participation in the January 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. He was arrested in June 2023 and pleaded guilty in July. During the riot, Johnston spent a bulk of time in the lower west tunnels leading to the Capitol where some of the most aggressive law enforcement fighting took place.
“During that time, 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 a ‘heave-ho’ push that pinned and crushed MPD Officer Daniel Hodges against a door frame,” federal prosecutors wrote.
Prosecutors pushed for an 18-month sentence saying it “reflects the gravity of Johnston’s conduct, including his spread of disinformation about January 6th and his lack of remorse for participating in the riot.” They also included a photo of Johnston making “light of his participation in the riot by dressing up as Jacob Chansley, known as the ‘QAnon Shaman,’ at a Halloween party that he attended back in 2022.
Johnston voiced Jimmy Pesto on Fox’s animated comedy “Bob’s Burgers” for a decade before he was fired from the job in 2021 after social media photos and videos helped prove he was at the Jan. 6 riots. His character later returned to the show with a new voice actor.
The actor’s lawyers said the government had been going extra hard on Johnston “because he is an acclaimed Hollywood actor, and the government is using his status to make a point to the public.” They added he’d “essentially been blacklisted by Hollywood” and “has worked as a handyman for the last two years.”
Johnston’s other credits include “Anchorman,” “Better Call Saul,” “The Sarah Silverman Program” and “Men in Black II.”
In the end, Judge Carl Nichols settled on one year and one day.
