Source: United States Department of Justice News
WASHINGTON – Three people – two from North Carolina and one from New York – were sentenced today on felony charges for their actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Their 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.
Dale Jeremiah Shalvey, 38, of Conover, North Carolina, was sentenced to 41 months in prison, 24 months of supervised release, and a fine/restitution for $2,000, for assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers and obstruction of an official proceeding. His wife, Tara Aileen Stottlemyer, 37, also of North Carolina, and Katharine Hallock Morrison, 38, of Dansville, New York, were each sentenced to eight months in prison, 24 months of supervised release, and a fine/restitution of $2,000 for obstruction of an official proceeding. The three defendants pleaded guilty on October 3, 2022, in the District of Columbia.
According to court documents, the three defendants traveled together on Jan. 6, 2021, and illegally entered the Capitol grounds. At approximately 2:09 p.m., Shalvey walked to a bike rack on the West Front of the Capitol, which was to act as a barricade, and assaulted law enforcement officers by throwing an object that hit an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department.
At approximately 2:20 p.m., Shalvey, Stottlemyer, and Morrison entered the Capitol through the Senate Wing door and then moved to various areas within the building, including the Crypt, the House’s Suite, the Rotunda, and the Senate Chamber. Inside the Senate Chamber, Shalvey and Morrison looked through Senators’ desks, while all three defendants took pictures of documents that were in and on those desks. Shalvey also took a letter written by Senator Mitt Romney to Vice President Michael Pence from a Senator’s desk and destroyed it after leaving the Capitol. They exited the building at approximately 3:05 p.m.
Shalvey was arrested on March 9, 2021, in Washington, D.C. Stottlemyer was arrested on Sept. 14, 2021, in Conover, North Carolina. Morrison was arrested on Feb. 10, 2022, in Dansville, New York.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Justice Department’s National Security Division prosecuted the case, with valuable assistance provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Eastern District of Missouri, Western District of New York, Western District of North Carolina, and Western District of Pennsylvania.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Buffalo, Charlotte, Pittsburgh, and Washington Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI, the U.S. Capitol Police, and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 28 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,000 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 320 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.