LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – “I am very googleable. I don’t think that I am ever going to escape what I did,” Nate DeGrave told FOX5.
The Las Vegas man pleaded guilty to his role in the January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol and now is sharing his side of the story. FOX5 reported on the arrest of DeGrave in January 2021, his plea deal in June 2022, and now his release from custody.
FOX5′s Kim Passoth has followed this since the beginning and spoke with him one-on-one.
DeGrave was charged with conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers.He took a plea deal including a maximum sentence of five years and was released in December.
DeGrave shared he never dreamed going to a Trump rally would result in serving time in federal prison. He was caught up in the moment and in over his head.
“It kind was like we were just there for clout. We wanted to get footage. We were flexing on social media, posting online. Obviously if we knew we would be charged and go to prison we wouldn’t have put anything online,” DeGrave contended.
DeGrave moved to Vegas from Philadelphia six years ago to build a marketing business and social media presence, once calling himself the “King of Las Vegas.” FOX5 spoke to him as he is now trying to re-build his life. He stepped out of a work conference at the Venetian for our interview.
”I am a law-abiding citizen. I’ve never had a parking ticket, never broken the law. I have always been on the side of law enforcement,” DeGrave reported.
DeGrave revealed a social media friend, Ronnie Sandlin, posted he was going to DC for the biggest Trump rally ever and asked if he wanted to join.
“I was working 12-14 hour days, so I was figuring, ‘Hey it would be a great opportunity to connect with him finally and get away for a couple days,’” DeGrave recounted. He says the plan was to take videos, never to stop certification of the election.
“The thought of going inside never crossed our mind,” DeGrave stated. As lawmakers sheltered inside, DeGrave did take part in the storming of the Capitol.
“We walked up to the Capitol and we saw people pouring inside. Sandlin had a very expensive Nikon camera and we had boom mics, GoPros, and the intention was to film,” DeGrave insisted.
The government says he did much more than just record. In their indictment, they shared an image of a man with his fists up. They say it is DeGrave.
They say he illegally pushed past barricades and officers to get into the Capitol, then pushed against officers to get into the Senate Gallery.
”Once I left the Capitol, I realized I probably shouldn’t have gone as far as I did. Obviously, it was a mistake, we all know that,” DeGrave admitted.
After serving a year in federal lockup and another year in home confinement, DeGrave hopes not to continue to be judged by his actions that day for the rest of his life.
“There might be a certain subset of people that can see past it and then there will be those that don’t,” DeGrave suggested.
DeGrave is now running a company called AchieveAI.io, helping businesses integrate AI in their operations.
He is still a big Trump supporter but you won’t find him in the crowd at any political rallies. He says if he gets involved in politics again, it is going to be on an official basis, perhaps running for office at some level in the future.
Back in January, three years after the riot, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Washington DC shared these statistics: Almost 1,300 defendants have been charged across nearly all 50 states. The crimes they’re accused of range from seriously injuring police officers to conspiracy to obstruct congressional proceedings. Roughly 750 have been sentenced for criminal activity with more than 460 serving prison times.
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