Antionne Brodnax—a rapper who goes by the name Bugzie the Don—has been sentenced to five months in prison for entering the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, the day a mob of former Republican President Donald Trump's supporters attacked the nation's seat of government on the false premise the 2020 general election had been stolen.
Brodnax told federal investigators that he had no political motivations for entering the Capitol and said he was there to shoot a music video.
However, that defense doesn't hold up under scrutiny because Brodnax rather brazenly used a photograph of himself from that day as the cover artwork for his album, The Capital.
The photo shows him sitting atop a car outside the Capitol's entrance as the riot—which left at least five people dead and resulted in over 100 injuries to law enforcement as well as millions of dollars in damages—rages around him.
You can see the album artwork below.
\u201cRapper who used a photo of himself sitting on a police vehicle during the Jan. 6 riot for an album cover has been sentenced to five months in prison\n\nhttps://t.co/0tWvmEIIXI\u201d— philip lewis (@philip lewis) 1671722772
Brodnax pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor counts, including for entering a restricted building.
Federal prosecutors argued for a 21-month sentence, noting that he deleted evidence from the attack and also has prior felony convictions. They said Brodnax “attempted to profit from the riot by releasing a rap album that used the attack on the Capitol as a theme," according to local news station WRIC.
A federal judge ultimately ruled Brodnax “had willfully obstructed the administration of justice” and said he will face one year of supervised release once he completes his sentence.
You can hear what happened in the video below.
Virginia rapper Bugzie the Don used Capitol riot photo as album cover and got chargedyoutu.be
Many have mocked Brodnax's audacious behavior following the news of his sentencing.
\u201cEmbarrassing\u201d— Kirstin Dunst Teeth (@Kirstin Dunst Teeth) 1671742257
\u201cBugzie the Don has never heard of Photoshop? \ud83d\ude2c\ud83e\udd14\ud83d\ude33\u201d— April is not an incubator (@April is not an incubator) 1671732053
\u201cgive him another five months for not spelling "capitol" right\u201d— adrian (@adrian) 1671724890
\u201cPlay stupid games\u2026.\u201d— Patricia Najjer-Vaca (@Patricia Najjer-Vaca) 1671730230
\u201cHe earned it. We have to start punishing people for being dumb.\u201d— Ryan (@Ryan) 1671732216
\u201cHe failed the quintessential test: \u201cIf Johnny and the rest of em jump off a cliff will you do it, too?\u201d— Chianti Papi (@Chianti Papi) 1671729215
\u201cSelf-snitching taken to a new level\u201d— Avery Owens \ud83c\udf0a (@Avery Owens \ud83c\udf0a) 1671724748
\u201cI thought he was sentenced for something else but no. Sentenced for being an idiot.\u201d— Teranga\u2019s Faithful (@Teranga\u2019s Faithful) 1671725062
Brodnax is far from the first participant in the January 6 insurrection to make headlines for outrageous behavior and bad decision-making after the attack.
In December 2021, attorneys for Buffalo, New York resident Thomas Sibick asked a federal judge to relieve him from a 24-hour lockdown at his parents' home so he can use dating apps and "interact with members of the opposite gender for the purpose of establishing a friendship.”
That same month, Jenna Ryan, a Frisco, Texas real estate agent who flew to D.C. on a private jet to attend the "Stop the Steal" rally, attracted widespread derision for vowing to devote her prison time to losing weight by doing yoga and drinking protein shakes.
Prosecutors noted that two months after the insurrection, she bragged on Twitter that she was "definitely not going to jail" because she has "blonde hair," "white skin," "a great job" and "a great future," behavior that appeared to acknowledge White privilege—inherent advantages possessed by a White person on the basis of their race in a society characterized by racial inequality and injustice.
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