Two Mathews residents who participated in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 received one-month terms in home detention as well as other penalties during sentencing on Nov. 9 in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Doug Sweet of Gwynn, and Cindy Fitchett of Cobbs Creek, had each pleaded guilty to one count of “parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building” on Aug. 10 as part of a plea bargain that dismissed three additional charges against them. The remaining charge carried a maximum sentence of six months in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
But the sentences requested by federal prosecutors were much more lenient. They asked for home detention for both defendants—three months for Sweet and two months for Fitchett—as part of a three-year probationary period for each, along with 60 hours of community service, and the payment of $500 in restitution.
Judge Carl J. Nichols largely granted the prosecution’s request, except for the home detention, which h...