close
close

first Drop

Com TW NOw News 2024

‘Bob’s Burgers’ voice actor Jay Johnston will receive a year in prison for his role on January 6
news

‘Bob’s Burgers’ voice actor Jay Johnston will receive a year in prison for his role on January 6

A former voice actor on the cartoon comedy “Bob’s Burgers” who was convicted of a felony for his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol was sentenced Monday to a year and a day in prison.

Jay Johnston, 56, pleaded guilty in July to a misdemeanor charge of interfering with law enforcement after videos showed him helping rioters push against a police line during one of the most violent exchanges between police and the pro-Trump crowd that day in the Lower West Terrace Tunnel.

Prosecutors sought an 18-month sentence for Johnston, citing in large part what they described as his apparent lack of remorse and avoidance of accepting responsibility for his actions that day.

Actor Jay Johnston attends “The Sarah Silverman Program” presented by The Paley Center for Media on May 2, 2008 in Beverly Hills, California.

Neilson Barnard/Getty Images, FILE

For example, they pointed to a photo of Johnston dressed as the so-called “QAnon Shaman” at a Halloween party two years after the attack on the Capitol.

Prior to his participation in the riot, Johnston had an extensive resume of acting in comedies, including roles in “Mr. Show,” “Arrested Development” and “The Sarah Silverman Program” – all before he was cast in the Fox animated series. “Bob’s Burgers” as Jimmy Pesto Sr.

During his sentencing hearing Monday, Johnston’s family members spoke about how since he was identified for his participation in the attack on the Capitol, he has been left out of consideration for future acting roles and “blackballed” from Hollywood.

Johnston addressed the court briefly before his sentence was handed down by D.C. District Judge Carl Nichols, taking responsibility for his role in the attack, which he described as “reprehensible.”

While passing sentence, Judge Nichols cited Johnston’s successful acting career, saying it made it “all the more inexplicable and disturbing” that he allegedly took part in the events at the Lower West Tunnel.