January 6 Defendant Says He Attended Events as Security Detailee

John Strand in front of the federal courthouse on Sept. 21 in Washington D.C. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

A January 6 defendant facing sentencing this week told the federal court in Washington on Friday that he attended the events as a security guard for a female doctor.

John  Strand attended Jan. 6, 2021, events in Washington with Dr. Simone Gold. They were charged (pdf) with multiple crimes. While Gold pleaded guilty to one of the crimes to dismiss the other four, Strand did not accept the offer. He now risks 24 years in jail.

Gold was scheduled to give a speech on Jan. 5, 2021, but it was canceled. Strand testified in court on Sept. 25 that he had security guard training and followed Gold during the rally. Strand said his job was to protect her and not storm the Capitol.

Pushed by the crowd, he said they entered the Capitol building and didn’t know how to get out. Strand said he had no prior knowledge of where the House Chamber was.

Neither Strand nor Gold wore Make American Great Again hats, t-shirts, helmets, or carried Trump flags, said Stephen Brennwald, Strand’s lawyer.

According to Jason Manning, a prosecutor, Strand had multiple chances to get out of the Capitol. Strand should have looked everywhere for any danger around Gold as a trained security guard. Instead, he didn’t look like he was trying to find a way to get Gold out of the crowd, said Manning.

“Everything was chaotic and loud,” said Strand; they followed where everyone was going.

FBI special agent Eric Turner investigated Strand’s text messages before and after the J6 event. Although Strand received and sent text messages about the 2020 presidential election integrity and rallies, no text message was found indicating that he planned to damage the Capitol or interrupt presidential transmission.

Several U.S. Capitol Police officers testified at Strand’s trial, describing Jan. 6 as a terrifying day with loud and prepared protestors equipped with gas masks, frozen water bottles, apples, and other items. They said people from the crowd sprayed them with tear gas. Some officers tried to speak with protesters to make them stop advancing into the Capitol building to no avail, they said. Neither Strand nor Gold attacked any police officer.

Strand said that people who broke windows with flag poles and did other damage committed a crime. As things settled down, he said, he and Gold followed law enforcement directions to get out of the Capitol.

“I am praying for mostly God’s supernatural grace intervention, to soften the hearts and minds of the 12 jurors to understand there’s more to the story, to understand that I’m not who the government is telling them that I am,” Strand told The Epoch Times.

Strand will learn the jury’s decision on Monday, Sept. 26.