ST. GEORGE, Utah — A Utahn found guilty of crimes in the Capitol insurrection and who then benefited from a U.S. Supreme Court ruling was sentenced to three years of probation on Wednesday.
The judge also ordered Brady Knowlton, of St. George, to pay $75,000 in fines and $25,000 in restitution. The sentence was closer to what the defense had requested. Prosecutors wanted Knowlton to serve a year in jail.
Knowlton’s attorney argued incarceration was unnecessary and that his client needed to remain free to care for an autistic daughter. Knowlton’s attorney also wrote to the court prior to the hearing that Knowlton has been “kicked out of law school in his final semester” due to the charges against him. News outlets have reported Knowlton was attending the University of Denver’s college of law.
Knowlton and two co-defendants, Gary R. Wilson, of South Jordan, and Patrick Montgomery, of Colorado, entered the Senate gallery on Jan. 6, 2021. At a bench trial in March of this year, a judge convicted Knowlton of entering a restricted building and of an obstruction charge. However, the U.S. Supreme Court later ruled the obstruction statute was being too broadly applied to Jan. 6 defendants.
Wilson was convicted of theft of government property for stealing an escape hood from the gallery. The device functions similar to a gas mask. Wilson was sentenced in the summer to 30 days in jail followed by 12 months of supervised release and to pay $500 restitution.
Montgomery was convicted of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers. A judge on Oct. 31 sentenced him to 37 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release.
