‘I am sincerely sorry.’ Civil engineer is first Missourian sentenced in Capitol riot
A 29-year-old civil engineer on Friday became the first Missouri resident to be sentenced in connection with the Capitol riot.
But first, Nicholas Reimler spoke to U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss:
“I am here today to take responsibility for my actions on January 6, and to express my remorse for those affected by the events of that day,” Reimler told the judge prior to sentencing. “The violence, destruction and loss of life at the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., should have never happened.
“I want to say I am sincerely sorry for being in and around the Capitol building that day. I’m sorry to the United States Capitol Police officers, who should have never had to defend lawmakers and their staff in the fashion they had to. I’m sorry to the 100-plus police officers who were injured and to the families of the numerous officers who tragically passed away stemming from the horrendous events of that day. And I’m sorry to the people of this country for threatening their democracy that makes this country so great.”
Moss, who said he was impressed by what Reimler had to say, sentenced him to one month of home detention, three years’ probation, 60 hours of community service and $500 in restitution. Like numerous defendants before him, Reimler received no jail time.
He pleaded guilty in September to one count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in the Capitol building, a misdemeanor. He faced a maximum sentence of six months in prison, one year of supervised release and a $5,000 fine.
The government had recommended a sentence of two months’ home detention, three years’ probation and $500 in restitution for damage done to the Capitol building, which prosecutors say totaled about $1.5 million.
Reimler graduated from the University of Missouri in 2014 with a degree in civil and environmental engineering. Records show that between 2014 and early 2018, he worked as a materials inspector for the Missouri Department of Transportation.
No one should have participated in the Capitol breach, said Reimler, who lives in St. Louis County.
“You cannot expect to live in a free society and also unlawfully hinder the Constitutional duty given to our government,” he said. “That is not how democracy is supposed to work.”
Moss said Reimler’s comments “do an excellent job of conveying the gravity of the event that occurred.”
“The events of that day were abhorrent, not just to the rule of law but to the fundamental nature of what this country stands for,” the judge said. “There were people there that day who did not believe in democracy and sought to undermine democracy...They sought to interfere and to undermine the electoral process. In my mind, there are few offenses that are more serious than to attack the democratic principles on which this country was founded.”
Moss noted, however, that Reimler did not engage in violent conduct or property destruction and did not invade the House or Senate chambers like other rioters did. His conduct, Moss said, “is on the low end of the scale of the events that occurred that day.”
Reimler’s sentencing hearing was held via video conference in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In exchange for his guilty plea, the government dropped two other misdemeanor charges against him: entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building.
In a sentencing document filed Dec. 1, the government said that Reimler’s actions “took place in the context of a large and violent riot that relied on numbers to overwhelm law enforcement, breach the Capitol, and disrupt the proceedings.”
“But for his actions alongside so many others, the riot likely would have failed...a riot cannot occur without rioters, and each rioter’s actions — from the most mundane to the most violent — contributed, directly and indirectly, to the violence and destruction of that day.”
Seventeen Missouri residents have been charged in connection with the Capitol breach, and five have now pleaded guilty — all to misdemeanors. In addition to Reimler, a Lake St. Louis man pleaded guilty on Monday, a Springfield couple entered guilty pleas on Sept. 27 and a Kansas City man pleaded guilty on Oct. 26. They are scheduled to be sentenced in January and February.
Reimler, who was identified as Photograph 39 on a document of suspects widely distributed by the FBI, was turned in by a Facebook friend who reported him to a tip line six days after the riot. Another Facebook friend provided FBI agents with screen shots of Reimler’s posts about attending the pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington, D.C.
According to the government’s sentencing document, Reimler illegally entered the Capitol building through the Senate wing door and walked through an area known as the Crypt, taking videos on his phone of other rioters inside. Reimler then posted the videos to Snapchat with a caption that read, “LOL what’s going on?”
“This indicates that he believed at the time that the breach of the United States Capitol building was, at least in part, a laughing matter and Reimler was advertising his participation in the Capitol breach to his social media followers,” the government said.
Reimler remained in the building for approximately 15 minutes.
“When he left, he exited through what appears to be a broken window next to the Senate wing door,” the government said, “which should have clearly indicated to him that some destruction of property occurred prior to his entry into the building.”
Reimler’s attorney, Ethan Corlija of St. Louis, said in a sentencing document filed Monday that Reimler never took part in any destructive acts, nor was he associated with any extremist groups or involved in planning any activity the crowd engaged in. He said Reimler made “what could be categorized as very few innocuous social media posts and he was cooperative from beginning to end with law enforcement following his identification and arrest.”
Reimler is now employed in the quality control department of a Maryland Heights construction material supply company, according to court documents. Two of his supervisors wrote the judge letters praising his character and work ethic.
In addressing the judge Friday, Reimler said he did not go to Washington “with malice on my mind or intent to do ill will to any person or property.”
“I simply went to show my support, not for a particular person or political party, but to support other Americans and their rights and the democracy that we live in,” he said.
However, he added: “My actions that day were far from exercising my Constitutional rights.”
“These actions I am charged with do not convey who I am or what I believe in,” he said. “Now, and in the future, I will continue to be a contributing person in society and will respect the rule of law. I vow to become a better, more compassionate and upstanding citizen from this.”
This story was originally published December 10, 2021 at 4:04 PM.
