Judge orders Capitol riot defendant back to jail after he watched the MyPillow guy's election conspiracies

Mike Lindell
(Image credit: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

A Capitol Riot defendant is returning to jail less than two months after he got out thanks to his viewing of conspiracy theories, including from the MyPillow guy.

A judge on Thursday ordered Capitol riot suspect Doug Jensen to return to jail because he violated the conditions of his release by using the internet to watch conspiracy theory content, CNN reports.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

But District Judge Timothy Kelly said Thursday it was "clear that he has not experienced the transformation that his lawyer previously described, and that he continues to seek out the conspiracy theories that led to his dangerous conduct on January 6," CNN reports. The judge added, "I don't see any reason to believe that he has had the wake-up call that he needs." Per CNN, Jensen's lawyer argued it "sounds a bit Orwellian" that the "government wants to jail him" for "streaming the news," but he added, "Orwellian aside, he was wrong, and he's not denying that."

Explore More
Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.