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A judge on Thursday found conspiracy theorist, COVID denier, and Jan. 6 defendant Alan Hostetter guilty of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, rejecting the police-chief-turned-yogi’s wild claims that the Capitol riot was actually an entrapment operation launched by the federal government in a plot to oppress Trump supporters.
Hostetter, who at one time headed up the La Habra Police Department in California before retiring to become a yoga instructor, showed up to the pro-Trump insurrection with a hatchet in his backpack and a bullhorn, through which he “cheered on rioters,” Judge Royce Lamberth said in handing down his verdict.
Hostetter represented himself in court and waived his right to a jury trial, opting instead for a bench trial, where a judge decides a defendant’s fate. He floated one absurd premise after another, trying in vain to convince Lamberth that the sacking of the Capitol had in fact been carried out by “crisis actors wearing costumes,” not a violent mob of MAGA fans trying to overturn the 2020 election. Joe Biden stole Donald Trump’s rightful victory, Hostetter—wrongly—insisted in court. However, he also insisted he and the others in the crowd had no intention of disrupting the vote certification going on inside the halls of Congress.