Jun 04, 2024 - 14:33
By huffpost.com

Supreme Court Rejects Petition From InfoWars Host After Jan. 6 Conviction

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a First Amendment petition filed by InfoWars host Owen Shroyer, who was sentenced to two months in prison over his role at the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

Shroyer was in Washington with InfoWars founder Alex Jones on Jan. 6 and led chants at the foot of the U.S. Capitol as hundreds of rioters listened on. At times he called Democrats “tyrants” and said the group gathered that day had declared “death to tyranny!” and “death to tyrants!”

While Shroyer himself didn’t enter the Capitol, prosecutors argued during his prosecution that he ignored calls to leave and said his behavior justified a conviction. They also noted he was under a court order to stay away from the building at the time of the Jan. 6 attack.

Shroyer pleaded guilty to illegally entering a restricted area on Capitol grounds last June, a misdemeanor. He was later sentenced to two months in prison with a judge noting he played a role “in amping up the crowd,” leading chants of “1776!” as the riot took place.

But Shroyer asked the nation’s highest court to review his case in hopes of overturning it on First Amendment violations. He said at the time he was a “martyr for free speech.”

The court did not explain its decision, which came amid a group of orders issued this week. There were no dissents or recusals noted.

Shroyer addressed the rejection on X, formerly Twitter, saying the order represented a new precedent for Americans.

“You can be arrested & sentenced for legal & lawful speech,” he wrote. “My case was the precedent. The message is clear. Speak out against government & risk arrest.”