Confederate flag bearer gets prison time to think about what he did
A Delaware man who carried a Confederate battle flag through the Senate chamber during the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and his son were sentenced to prison Thursday.
Kevin Seefried, 53, was sentenced to three years in prison followed by a year of supervised release for obstructing a joint session of Congress and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine.
His son, Hunter, then 22, was convicted of the same charge and was sentenced to 24 months in prison.
The father and son were convicted during a bench trial in June by U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden.
Seefried attempted to stab Officer Eugene Goodman of the Capitol Police with the point of the flag, but he wasn’t charged for that act.
“It was a demeaning, humiliating spectacle for anyone who cares about law enforcement,†Judge McFadden said. Goodman ran up the stairs to escape the mob chasing after him.
Goodman, who testified at the Seefrieds’ trial, said Seefried cursed at him and jabbed at him with the base of his flagpole three or four times without making contact.
Goodman recalled that Seefried asked where members of Congress were counting the votes and said, “You can shoot me, man, but we’re coming in.â€
The prosecutor sought 70 years in prison for the elder Seefried.
The father and son had attended the stop-the-steal rally organized by Donald Trump.
The elder Seefried said he did not know if the Confederate battle flag offended some people. The Confederate battle flaf hangs on a flag pole outside his house in Laurel, Delaware.