Left to right: Daniel Page Adams, Cody Page Carter Connell (U.S. Attorney’s Office).
Two cousins received their sentences for their involvement in the unrest at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, which included aiding the initial wave of rioters that breached the building on that day.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office disclosed that Daniel Page Adams, a 45-year-old from Texas, and Cody Page Carter Connell, a 30-year-old from Louisiana, were both handed 26-month prison terms by U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman during a recent court session.
Adams and Connell were found guilty in July 2023 of various offenses including civil disorder, hindering an official proceeding, attacking law enforcement officers, as well as multiple counts of trespassing and disorderly conduct following a bench trial overseen by Friedman, who was appointed by Bill Clinton. Originally, the sentencing was planned for November 2023 but got postponed as the U.S. Supreme Court deliberated on the significance of the hindering an official proceeding charge in cases related to Jan. 6; the obstruction charge was ultimately excluded from Adams’ and Connell’s trial and subsequent sentencing after the justices ruled in June of that year.
Prior to joining the insurrection effort, the two men attended Donald Trump‘s “Stop the Steal” rally. They then made their way to the front of the mob at the Capitol building.
“Let’s go. Are you ready to push? You ready to push?” Adams said to fellow rioters at one point when officers blocked the group.
On Adams’ signal, the crowd began to push against the officers.
“Hey, you’re not even a f—ing American!” Adams shouted at the officers.
When a rioter sprayed mace, striking an officer, Adams yelled to the crowd, “Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go!” and pushed into the outnumbered officers who retreated as the mob followed close behind.
“C’mon! Let’s go! C’mon!” Adams shouted to rioters as he ran up a staircase with the crowd following.
A strike to the head with a police baton didn’t slow him down, officials said. Bloodied but unbowed, he continued his charge up the stairs and into a courtyard. He filmed himself — blood streaming down his head — as he narrated and watched other rioters kick and shatter the windows on both sides of the Senate Wing Door.
“This is my house!” he shouted in the video as the first rioters entered the building through shattered windows, according to court documents. He and his cousin quickly followed the others inside and then exited the building at 2:16 p.m. and 2:17 p.m.
Like many other Jan. 6 defendants, they bragged about their actions that day on social media.
“Just to get things straight,” Adams wrote. “It wasn’t ANTIFA or BLM. It was pissed off American patriots,” and “Me and my cousin led the charge. We were the first ones in[.] Don’t show anyone this picture. […] We were the ones who broke through the last barricade.”
Connell also promoted his activities, writing, “We were the first ones to breach the Capitol today. We got his (sic) with tear gas rubber bullets and batons. You damn right we got their attention. That was the whole point of what we did today. And today was just the start of something much bigger.”
In their sentencing memo seeking an upward departure of 51 months for both men, prosecutors wrote that the defendants led the charge of rioters into a key area of the Capitol that day and were violent.
“They opened the Northwest Steps by assaulting five vastly outnumbered officers until they retreated,” prosecutors wrote. “They were two of the first rioters to enter the Capitol Building, with Connell personally opening the Senate Wing doors to the Capitol for the flow of rioters while Adams cheered on. As they watched hundreds of other rioters pour into the seat of government in an effort to halt the transfer of presidential power, Connell and Adams knew the role that they had played. Connell also presented a danger moving forward as he planned to return to D.C. with firearms and body armor on Inauguration Day, and he was not going home unless it was in a ‘body bag.’”
In Connell’s sentencing memo seeking a short custodial sentence and 36 months of supervised release, his lawyer said Connell went to Washington, D.C., after Trump told his followers the election was stolen and to go to the Capitol to “fight like hell” on his behalf.
“The alarmist and inciteful rhetoric used by President Trump and those around him had the desired effect,” the memo said. “Mr. Connell, along with hundreds of thousands of other Americans, was convinced that the election was being stolen from President Trump and he wanted to answer the President’s call for action.”
In a letter to the court included as part of the sentencing memo, Connell said he was sorry.
“I would like to express great remorse for my actions made on January 6th, 2021 at the United States Capitol,” he wrote. “Among those affected by my decisions include but are not limited to the police officers, who dedicate their lives to protect and serve their citizens. I should not have behaved that way. My decision to go to the Capitol and my actions were impulsive and took place at a time when I was focused on the election and problems I was hearing about how it was handled. In hindsight I did not think enough about how what I was doing was wrong.”
