First dates can always be difficult, especially when trying to find compatibility with a stranger. But one man’s prospects ended on Jan. 6, 2021, after he saw the riots happening at the U.S. Capitol on his Tinder date’s television, and then took off in an Uber to join protesters, according to court records.
Jeffery Schaefer, a business owner in Delaware, has been sentenced to 30 days of incarceration and ordered by U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan to pay a $2,000 fine and $500 in restitution for his participation in the riots, according to court records obtained by The Associated Press.
According to the records, Schaefer stayed the night of Jan. 5, 2021, at a woman’s house in Virginia after the two had met on Tinder. The next day, he took an Uber ride to the Capitol after seeing what was happening on TV.
“He had the Uber driver drop him off near the west front of the Capitol, and he approached the Capitol from that drop off point,” Justice Department prosecutor Anita Eve wrote in a court filing.
While at the Capitol, Schaefer entered the building through a broken window near the Senate Wing doors. He also joined chants, spent 28 minutes inside before leaving, and took several photos he later posted on social media, according to prosecutors.
Schaefer was arrested for his actions at the beginning of this year in January 2022. The 36-year-old pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him in August.
According to Schaefer’s attorney Joshua Insley, his client wasn’t engaged in any violence at the Capitol, and while he once thought of himself as a “committed supporter” of former President Donald Trump, he said his client now feels he was “manipulated and used by those who hold power and will never face any consequences.”
“While Mr. Schaefer accepts responsibility for his actions, he was guided and urged every step of the way by no less of an authority than the President of the United States and a majority of Republican Senators and Congressman that continued to repeat the ‘Big Lie’ that the election had been stolen by the Democrats,” Insley wrote, the AP reported.
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