Prosecutors say Chad Suenram wore a face mask painted with an American flag and had an American flag painted on the right side of his head when he entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (U.S. Department of Justice via TNS)
A Wichita man who breached the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, wearing a patriotic face mask with an American flag painted on his head has been sentenced to two years of probation.
Chad Dustin Suenram, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, also must pay $500 restitution for damage to the Capitol, which the government says totaled more than $2.9 million. His sentencing hearing was held Monday before Judge Ana C. Reyes in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Suenram, 44, pleaded guilty in April to entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, a misdemeanor. He faced a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine. The government requested a sentence of 90 days’ incarceration followed by one year of supervised release, 60 hours of community service and $500 restitution.
Suenram is among 10 Kansas residents charged in connection with the Capitol riot and the ninth to be convicted and sentenced. William Pope, of Topeka, is scheduled to go to trial in December.
Arrested July 17, 2023, in Haysville, south of Wichita, Suenram was charged with four misdemeanors: knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. The government dropped three of the charges in exchange for his guilty plea.
Suenram had been dubbed #FlagFaceMarine by a network of online investigators helping identify and locate those involved in the Capitol attack.
The government’s sentencing memorandum filed Oct. 1 said Suenram traveled alone from Wichita to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, 2021, on a private charter bus to attend the “March to Save America” rally. He took with him a face mask painted with the American flag, the document said.
“In the morning on January 6, 2021, Suenram arrived at the ‘Save America March’ with the face mask and an American flag painted on the side of his head,” it said. After attending former President Donald Trump’s speech at the Ellipse, Suenram walked with the crowd toward the Capitol building.
Suenram crossed into the restricted perimeter near the Capitol, the document said, then joined a mob gathered around the scaffolding and staircase leading to the Upper West Terrace.
“After rioters overran the police line, Suenram, wearing his face mask, followed the mob to the Upper West Terrace, where he approached the Capitol building by the Senate Fire Door,” it said. “Suenram was near the Senate Fire Door as it was violently breached when a rioter broke the glass on that door with his cane and then forced it open at 2:41 p.m.”
Suenram followed rioters through the entrance at 2:45 p.m. as fire alarms blared, the document said, then walked down the corridor while recording the chaos on his phone.
Raised fist in celebration
Around 3 p.m., the government’s filing said, Suenram and many other rioters were pushed back by police and forced out through the Fire Door.
“Undeterred by clear warning signs that he was not permitted to be there, and ignoring the police presence, blaring alarms and chemical irritants in the air, Suenram re-entered the U.S. Capitol through the Senate Wing Door at 3:05 p.m,” the document said. “CCTV (closed circuit television) shows Suenram raising his fist in celebration and videotaping with his cell phone as he entered.”
Suenram walked toward the Crypt, continuing to record on his phone, the filing said. In the Crypt, he joined rioters who were shouting, “USA, USA,” still filming on his phone. He exited the Capitol around 3:13 p.m. through the South Door Vestibule, it said, after being inside for about 35 minutes during his two entries.
Outside, the government said, Suenram positioned himself in front of a large mob confronting officers at the North Door.
“Suenram stood just feet away from beleaguered police officers as they were subjected to verbal abuse,” the filing said. “Police body worn camera captured Suenram pump his arm in the air and join other rioters in chanting ‘Treason! Treason!’ to the police officers guarding the entrance.
“At 3:49 p.m., rioters were directly and violently pushing into the bodies of the police officers who struggled to maintain the line. As police fought the rioters back, a rioter fired bear spray directly in the faces of police guarding the North Door. The physical confrontation quickly escalated. Suenram, caught in the middle, put his hands on a police officer’s arm as he helped another rioter retreat.”
Suenram briefly disappeared from the front of the police line, the filing said, but quickly returned further down the line. Seeing they were outnumbered, officers retreated inside the Capitol, it said. Suenram and other rioters then congregated in front of the Northwest Doors, with police spraying chemical irritants from behind a closed door to try and clear the entrance.
“Suenram appeared jubilant throughout, waving his arms and cheering, and even at one point gyrating his body to music blaring in the background,” the government said. “Suenram then watched from a few paces away as other rioters began to pick up rocks and other heavy objects and throw them at the door. He then disappeared from the North Door area.”
The government said Suenram has no remorse for his actions to this day: “He repeatedly minimizes the violence that took place on January 6 and his role as a participant in the violent mob.”
The filing included details of Suenram’s criminal history. In 2002, when he was 22 and in the armed services, it said, he was convicted of wrongful use of a controlled substance. That resulted in a sentence of 60 days of incarceration and a “bad conduct” discharge from the military.
Other crimes include a 2005 conviction for sale or possession with intent to sell a controlled substance (cocaine); a 2006 conviction of driving under the influence for a second time; and a 2007 conviction of driving with a suspended license.
Father of five
“Suenram is by all accounts a good father who has custody over his four children and recently adopted a fifth child from the foster system,” the government’s filing said. “While the government appreciates that positive attribute, those characteristics did not stop the defendant from engaging in the crime in the first place.”
Suenram’s sentencing memorandum, filed on Friday, described him as self-employed and a single parent of five minor children. It said his intention in going to Washington was “to participate in a peaceful demonstration.”
“He did enter the U.S. Capitol building on that date and re-entered the Capitol and remained on Capitol grounds when chemical agents were utilized,” it said. “The defendant does regret having participated in the ‘Save America March.’”
Suenram’s attorney, Michael Studtmann, argued in the document that “the defendant has shown remorse for his actions and was truthful on what he saw and did that day.”
“These days my client spends his time with his children when he is not working,” Studtmann wrote, adding that Suenram’s actions on Jan. 6 were “the exception and not the defendant’s normal behavior.”
“The defendant is an employer in our community and a very loving parent. He participates in good activities that are wholesome and that are vital for his minor children ... The defendant made a terrible mistake when he unlawfully entered the Capitol, but he has cooperated with the criminal court system and if granted probation will obey all conditions that the court has set out.”
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