Larry Fife Giberson, Civil Disorder, New Jersey 2021

A New Jersey man was sentenced today on a felony charge for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.

Larry Fife Giberson, 22, of Manahawkin, New Jersey, was sentenced today to two months in prison and six months of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols. Giberson pleaded guilty to one count of civil disorder on July 31, 2023.

According to court documents, on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, Giberson and his mother drove from New Jersey to Washington, D.C., to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally at the Ellipse and afterward headed to the Capitol building. Giberson, a Princeton University student, and New Jersey native, attended the rally after seeing the former President’s social media post calling for a protest in Washington, D.C., on January 6th.

Giberson then separated from his mother and made his way to the Lower West Terrace Tunnel. As Giberson moved toward the Tunnel, rioters outside were taking stolen police shields and passing them to other rioters positioned further inside the Tunnel at the front of the police line. At about 3:08 p.m., Giberson entered the Tunnel and made his way towards the police line.

Giberson remained standing near the front for nearly two more minutes before retreating to the mouth of the Tunnel. At 3:15 p.m., as the crowd began to surge forward, Giberson began ushering other rioters into the Tunnel and towards the front of the police line. Court documents say that Giberson pushed at least ten other rioters into the Tunnel.

According to court documents, after participating in a collective assault against law enforcement officers, observing the viciousness of the fighting inside the Tunnel, and witnessing the assault of a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer, Giberson did not leave the Capitol grounds. Instead, he remained outside the Tunnel for at least 40 more minutes.

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