‘Bob’s Burgers’ actor sentenced to one year in prison for January 6 role

Jay Johnston, an actor with recurring roles on “Bob’s Burgers,” “Mr. Show” and “Arrested Development” was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the capital, NBC News reported.

Johnston was arrested in June 2023 and a month later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing officers during a civil disorder. The actor, whose credits also include “Anchorman” and “Men in Black II,” was identified as a participant in the riot before he was arrested, which resulted in his firing from “Bob’s Burgers” in December 2021. (Johnston voiced Jimmy Pesto in 42 episodes of the animated comedy, spanning 11 seasons.)

According to court documents, Johnston flew from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. on January 5, 2021 to attend the Stop the Steal Rally. He stood near the police line as he watched and filmed rioters attacking police. He also used a stolen U.S. Capitol Police riot shield to create a “shield wall” against police and participated in a push that pushed and crushed a police officer against a door frame.

In the days after Jan. 6, Johnston sent messages to family and friends claiming that the events at the Capitol had been exaggerated by the media and that it was a “setup” by police and Antifa, according to a sentencing memo. Nearly two years after the attack, Johnston “made light of his participation in the riot by dressing up as Jacob Chansley, known as the ‘QAnon Shaman,’ at a Halloween party he attended.”

The government sought an 18-month prison sentence for Johnston, given his “spreading of disinformation about January 6” and his “lack of remorse for participating in the riot.”