WASHINGTON — A Laurel man who carried a Confederate flag through the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday.
Kevin Seefried, 53, was previously convicted on five charges stemming from his participation in the riot, including obstruction of an official proceeding — the joint session of Congress that was working to certify the Electoral College vote that day.
The government is seeking a 70-month sentence for Seefried, while his lawyers have asked for one year in prison.
Photographs of Seefried walking through the Capitol with his Confederate flag quickly became some of the most well-known images from the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol. Seefried brought the flag “as a symbol of protest, but had not considered the logic of those who see the flag as a symbol of American racism,” his lawyers wrote in their sentencing memorandum filed last week.
“Now that photos of him with the flag have become iconic symbols of the horror of January 6, Mr. Seefried completely understands the harm he has caused,” they wrote, adding that Seefried is aware that “the community and even history, may view him as a racist.”
Seefried was the first rioter in the building to interact with U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who led Seefried and other rioters away from the entrance to the Senate chamber, prosecutors said. Goodman had ordered Seefried to leave the building. In response, Seefried asked Goodman where the members of Congress were and “jabbed the base of the flagpole at him,” prosecutors said.
Kevin's son Hunter was also involved in the January 6 riot. For information on that sentencing click here.