A man who stormed the US Capitol earlier this year thinking it was the White House has been shown leniency by the judge.
Doug Jensen joined the insurrection on January 6 in support of former President Donald Trump.
Five people including an on-duty Capitol police officer lost their lives as a result of the riot in which armed pro-Trump protestors stormed the Capitol building and interrupted Congress.
Jensen, along with the other rioters, had hoped to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which saw the Republican president lose out to his Democratic counterpart Joe Biden.
On Tuesday, July 13, more than half a year after the deadly Capitol insurrection, a Washington, DC judge ordered Jensen's release from jail in favor of home incarceration, per HuffPost.
Jensen was one of the first protestors to breach the seat of the legislative branch of the federal government. While inside the building, he proceeded to chase Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman up the stairs leading to the Senate.
HuffPost reports he was under the impression that he was at the White House, which is the center of the executive branch.
US District Judge Timothy J. Kelly cited Jensen's limited knowledge of the US government in his decision to release him from jail.
According to the outlet, in videos taken on the day of the riot, Jensen continuously repeated his false belief that he was at the White House.
"This is me, touching the f***ing White House," Jensen said in one video, with his hand touching the wall of the Capitol.
"Storm the White House!" Jensen shouted passionately in another video. "That’s what we do!"
Judge Kelly believes Jensen's actions that day couldn't have been premeditated as he "had no basic understanding of where he even was."
He added, per Des Moines Register: "Nothing I say should be understood to say that I don’t think Mr. Jensen’s conduct that day was very serious, that I don’t think what happened on Jan. 6 was very serious.
"And that shouldn't give anyone a hint of what sentence I might think appropriate [should Jensen be convicted]. I’ve said many times, I do consider what happened that day to be the equivalent of trying to steal one of the crown jewels of our country, the peaceful transfer of power."
Following the judge's ruling, Jensen is forbidden from accessing the internet, and every internet-capable device in his home must be password protected so that he cannot use them.
Jensen will be released into his wife's custody after she swore to make sure that he abides by the conditions of his release.
