Bucks County man gets probation after his wife posted about his involvement in Capitol riot on Facebook

A Bucks County man whose wife’s Facebook postings tipped the FBI off to his part in the mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 told a federal judge Monday that he was “ashamed” for his role — which included entering the breached building for more than 20 minutes and walking into a ransacked U.S. senator’s office — and that it was only after the couple watched the New York Times video report on the day that they saw the full scope of the violence.

Appearing in federal court in Washington, Gary Edwards, 68, of Churchville, was sentenced to one year of probation, 200 hours of community service, and to pay a fine of $2,500. Additionally, U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg ordered Edwards to put $500 in restitution toward the $1.5 million in damage to the Capitol when rioters stormed the building in support of President Donald Trump as Congress inside worked to certify the results of the election.

“There really is no more serious and profound action democracy takes than the certifying of a lawful and fair election,” Boasberg said. “And to the extent anyone would interfere with that, particularly with force of violence, they strike at the root of the democracy.”

Edwards told the judge he rode a bus with his ministry leaders from Newtown to the rally, with the intent to show support for Trump.

Edwards said he stood at the National Mall rally for hours. Eventually, wearing a “Make America Great Again” ski cap, he walked toward the Capitol to eat his lunch, and later saw the mob moving toward the building.

“I followed them,” he told the judge. “I’m not really sure why – I think it was mostly just out of curiosity.”

Footage collected by prosecutors shows Edwards entering the breached Capitol around 3:01 p.m. past broken windows and blaring alarms. There, he milled about the halls, flushed tear gas from a fellow rioter’s eyes, snapped photos, and stepped into the trashed office of Sen. Jeff Merkley (D., Ore.).

» READ MORE: Three more Philadelphia Proud Boys have been charged in Capitol riot after taking photos inside a senator’s office

Weighing the government’s push for Edwards to serve two weeks of prison time, Boasberg noted that “there is a strong argument that anyone who was there that day deserves jail,” and said it’s difficult to argue Edwards was unaware he wasn’t welcome in the Capitol. But the judge said he also considered Edwards “one of the least culpable people” he’d seen charged.

The judge pointed out that Edwards — a retiree from the insurance field with a track record of volunteering at food pantries and ministry — has expressed remorse and did not publicly boast about his involvement.

Instead, it was his wife who took to Facebook in the aftermath of the insurrection.

“Okay ladies, let me tell you what happened as my husband was there inside the Capitol,” Lynn Feiler Edwards wrote in a now-deleted post, explaining how her husband followed a group into the building after they broke down police barricades and smashed a window to climb inside. She continued to write that her husband flushed tear gas from the eyes of other rioters, chatted with police, and sang “The Star-Spangled Banner.” An anonymous Facebook friend forwarded a screenshot of her comments to federal agents.

» READ MORE: A Bucks County man is the first local Capitol rioter to plead guilty. More are on the horizon.

But in court Monday, Lynn Edwards — who was not in Washington on Jan. 6 and has not been charged — told the judge that her postings were not factual reports from her husband’s time at the Capitol, but rather her “express[ing] myself off the cuff” while watching reports on One America News Network, a far-right conservative cable channel.

Lynn Edwards said she and her husband of 45 years did not discuss much about the events besides a brief phone call from inside the Capitol rotunda.

“Never in my life could I have dreamed that something I posted on Facebook would be used against my husband, would lead him to be arrested,” Lynn Edwards said.

It was months later that they watched the New York Times special report — showing a much different, violent scene from the one portrayed on OANN, including attacks on Capitol police‚ together “in horror,” Lynn Edwards said.

“I wish I had been there,” she told the judge, “because in our relationship, I am the one who is much more observant and alert to my surroundings.”

Earlier this month, another Pennsylvania insurrectionist was also sentenced to probation after posting a selfie with the mob inside the Capitol to Facebook. His Facebook friends, too, reported him to authorities.

» READ MORE: Pa. man gets probation after taking Facebook selfie inside the Capitol on Jan. 6

At least 703 people — including 63 from Pennsylvania — have been arrested in connection to the Capitol riot.

This story has been updated to reflect Gary Edwards’ statements to the judge.