Bob's Burgers and Anchorman actor Jay Johnston sentenced to 1 year in prison for Jan. 6 Capitol attack

Jay Johnston, the actor whose credits include the animated TV series Bob's Burgers and the big-screen comedy Anchorman, has been sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, mob attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Johnston, 56, was arrested by the FBI in June after being identified from footage taken by fellow rioters and pleaded guilty in July to interfering with police officers on the day of the insurrection. He faced up to five years behind bars.

At his sentencing Monday, he expressed remorse that he "made it more difficult for the police to do their job" and said he never thought a riot would break out, according to the Associated Press. "That was because of my own ignorance," he added. Johnston will report to prison at a date to be determined.

An attorney for Johnston didn't immediately respond to Entertainment Weekly's request for comment.

Prosecutors had recommended an 18-month prison sentence, partly because Johnson "made light of his participation in the riot," according to a sentencing memo that included a photo of him dressed up as Jacob Chansley, the Capitol rioter known as the "QAnon Shaman," at a 2022 Halloween party.

Prosecutors alleged that Johnston not only took part in one of the day's most violent assaults on law enforcement officers in the Lower West Plaza, but also filmed the events on his cell phone. After being handed a stolen U.S. Capitol Police riot shield, prosecutors said Johnston participated in creating a "shield wall" used to force officers to retreat into a tunnel.

Videos taken by Johnston on the day of the attack that were later played in court showed the actor using a metal bike rack to scale a wall, using a Donald Trump billboard as a blunt shield against police officers, and joking about his fellow rioters attacking the police.

Prosecutors wrote that Johnston "sent messages to friends and family in the days after January 6th claiming the events at the U.S. Capitol were exaggerated by the media and that it was a 'setup' by the police and Antifa" despite his "clear knowledge of, and participation in, the violence used by rioters that day."

Numerous people died in connection with the Capitol attack, including rioter Ashli Babbit, who was shot by a police officer. Officer Brian D. Sicknick died of multiple strokes a day after being attacked by the mob, and four other officers died by suicide in the months following the attack.

Johnston is best known for voicing Jimmy Pesto Sr. on Bob's Burgers. His other screen credits include the TV series Arrested Development and The Sarah Silverman Show, both of which saw him play a police officer.