SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge on Friday sentenced an Ogden man who spent 30 minutes inside the Capitol during the riot there to one year probation.
Prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence Israel M. Matson to 14 days of incarceration that could be served on nights and weekend, while Matson had asked he only be sentenced to what he eventually received.
In the defense’s sentencing memo, his lawyer explained that Matson grew up in North Carolina and wanted to go to become an attorney.
He altered those ideas when a love for falconry “took him on an adventure to Utah that would change his life-plan,” defense attorney William Shipley wrote. “The time he [spent] outdoors caused him to realize that a career that would have him inside office buildings and courthouses every day wasn’t that appealing to him.”
Court records now describe Matson as employed as a restorer of Airstream trailers.
“Mr. Matson harbored concerns about irregularities in the outcome of the election,” Shipley wrote, “and came to Washington D.C. with his brothers to attend the rally and be part of the protest – nothing more.”
Matson was not accused of violence, though prosecutors argued in their sentencing memo that, “Matson’s conduct on January 6, like the conduct of scores of other defendants, took place in the context of a large and violent riot that relied on numbers to overwhelm police, breach the Capitol, and disrupt the proceedings.”
The judge also ordered Matson to pay $500 in restitution.
Eleven Utahns have been convicted for crimes related to the insurrection. Three others have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial. One defendant’s charges were dismissed when he died awaiting trial.
