A 24-year-old moved to Maryland to work for the National Security Agency six months before joining the attack on the U.S. Capitol with followers of a movement whose founder is known for espousing white supremacist views, according to court filings.
Paul Lovley was sentenced Tuesday to two weeks incarceration for illegally demonstrating in the Capitol.
“All I can do is take responsibility for my actions, learn from this experience, and move on with my life,” Lovley said in a letter to the court. “This entire situation has served as a wake-up call—something that forced me to truly reflect on what is important in life, what types of things to avoid engaging with going forward, and the dangers of cognitive dissonance.”
He said he came to the area from California for his “first-ever serious job” and did not know anyone.
According to prosecutors, Lovley was working in information technology for the NSA before Jan. 6. The NSA referred questions about his employment to the Justice Department, which did not return a request for comment.
The night before the riot, the government said, Lovley hosted at his Maryland home four friends he met at an event for “America First,” a movement founded by Nick Fuentes, who has been banned from most social media platforms for repeated racist and antisemitic remarks. The Justice Department in other cases has described Fuentes, who was outside the Capitol on Jan. 6 but is not charged in the attack, as “a public figure known for making racist statements, celebrating fascism, and promoting white supremacy.” He gained national prominence after dining with former president Donald Trump in late 2022.
The five young men including Lovley entered the Capitol building a few minutes after the first breach, according to court records. Along with other rioters, they went into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office and onto the Senate floor. After about 40 minutes, they left the building; prosecutors say one of Lovley’s friends then assaulted a police officer with a metal barricade and helped destroy reporters’ equipment.
That friend, Joseph Brody, is charged with multiple felonies and is the only member of the group who has not pleaded guilty.
Lovley’s phone was picked up in a Google location search; the FBI was then able to identify the others because they used Venmo to pay Lovley back for a Domino’s pizza order the night of Jan. 5.
All five also went together to the Nov. 14, 2020, pro-Trump rally in Washington, according to the court record.
Defense attorney David Benowitz said Lovley is no longer associated with the “America First” movement and has not been for years. In court filings, Benowitz said Lovley has moved again and has a new job.