Texas January 6th Defendant Asks Jury to Acquit Him Because of the Declaration of Independence

     On January 6th, 2021, then-44-year-old William Patrick Sarsfield III of Gun Barrel City, Texas, paid a visit to the United States Capitol. Sarsfield was among rioters who repeatedly engaged in violence against law enforcement officers guarding the Capitol. Sarsfield participated in the confrontation with law enforcement officers in the Lower West Terrace and tunnel areas of the Capitol. He entered the tunnel on the Lower West Terrace at approximately 3:12 p.m., making his way into the mob of rioters who were coordinating pushes against police officers while yelling “HEAVE HO!” and “PUSH!”  Sarsfield entered the tunnel three separate times to assist in the collective pushes against police officers as the rioters tried to gain access to the Capitol building.  While Sarsfield joined in collective pushes, one police officer, Daniel Hodges, screamed in pain as the weight of the rioters’ pushes pinned him between a shield and a door.  Sarsfield also assisted in passing stolen police shields into the tunnel.

     According to Sarsfield, he went to the Capitol via car with his wife. He was only able to afford the trip because of the December 2020 stimulus check. 

     Sarsfield was arrested in February 2023 and charged with felony civil disorder as well as several related misdemeanors. In an interview with the far-right Dallas Express, who painted Sarsfield as a "protestor" being "threatened" by the DOJ, Sarsfield recounted escorting a police officer who required medical attention to an ambulance and provided a selfie he took with the officer. This is probably true, and "senior reporter" Patrick Hauf asked why this hadn't factored into the DOJ's charging decision. Well, Mr. Hauf, let me explain it to you: helping someone doesn't change the fact that a crime has been committed.

     If you run someone over with your car, flee, and then stop to help someone out of a burning building, you don't get to ask why you still got charged for vehicular manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident. If you hold up a gas station and then stop a woman from being raped, you don't get to ask why you are still being charged with aggravated robbery. If you smash open a window to a liquor store that is being looted and then stop someone from assaulting a clerk, you don't get to ask why you are still being arrested for vandalism.

     That could factor in at sentencing, but it doesn't change the fact that he repeatedly attacked and robbed law enforcement during the attempted overthrow of the United States government. And, based on the April 2024 interview and what has happened since, it doesn't seem like Sarsfield is doing himself any favors in the eyes of the court. Sarsfield was originally scheduled to go on trial in May, but the date was pushed back to this week. He filed motions to push back his trial again as well as for a mistrial, both of which were denied.

     Last week, as both the prosecution and the defense do for jury trials, William Patrick Sarsfield III submitted his proposed jury instructions, i.e. the instructions the jury receives to determine whether a defendant is guilty or not guilty of the charges. Sarsfield, through his attorney, submitted the following proposed instructions: "Our country was formed under the belief that all people are created equal, that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. To secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government. It is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. Declaration of Independence, 1776."

     In case you felt any sympathy for Mr. Sarsfield, or had any doubt as to what kind of person he is, this ludicrous filing should clear that up. He's such a loser that he had to use a stimulus check when gas was cheaper than dirt to drive to the Capitol, where he attacked police. He tried to claim he didn't do so because he walked his fat ass to an ambulance after attacking the police, and then he went to the local paper to clear his name. Now, as his trial commences, he is painting himself as Nathan Hale or Thomas Jefferson. A verdict has not come in yet in his trial. However, if his behavior continues, it's a safe bet that Mr. Sarsfield will be convicted of felony and misdemeanor crimes and sentenced to significant prison time.

     The man who inspired Sarsfield and thousands of others is running for president in an election that is just days away. He can't be allowed to win.