LOWVILLE, New York (WWNY) – Lewis County Sheriff Mike Carpinelli called for leniency for a man who attended the January 6th protest and riot in Washington, D.C.
Carpinelli wrote a letter to the judge hearing the case for 71-year-old William Tryon who lives in the Albany area.
The Albany Times Union reports that Tryon asked officers at the Capitol for permission to enter, was told no, and tried to enter anyway, resulting in him being pepper sprayed.
Tryon pleaded guilty to “entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds” last October.
CBS News reports Tryon submitted Carpinelli’s letter along with six-dozen others as character witnesses.
Carpinelli says he’s known Tryon for years and that the two met in the Capitol Region during rallies for a group called Liberty Bell Alliance 76.
The group no longer has a Facebook page, but the Times Union reports the group is a self-styled “modern day” militia, organized by Tryon.
Carpinelli says Tryon is a patriot and a good man.
“I consider him a close friend. As I stated earlier, something that I wrote, I put down that he has a strong passion in his heart for our country, as do I. Sometimes that might cloud our good intentions, not meaning to do any harm to anybody, and there was no harm done, so of course I’d step out and speak up for him and give a character reference for the type of person that he was,” said Carpinelli.
The judge sentenced Tryon on Friday to 50 days in jail, which CBS notes is almost twice the sentence prosecutors recommended.
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