Philly Amtrak employee who stormed Capitol on Jan. 6 is sentenced to three years of probation

Ronald Andrulonis, an Amtrak employee who pleaded guilty to illegally entering the Capitol building during the attack on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced Friday to three years’ probation.

The 38-year-old Army veteran appeared in federal court in Washington, before U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell. He had faced up to a year in prison for the misdemeanor offense.

Andrulonis, a Northeast Philadelphia native, was charged in March after a coworker identified him in surveillance footage and a selfie he shot at the riot following former President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally.

The Justice Department has charged over 1,000 people for participating in the Capitol attack, including more than 70 individuals from Pennsylvania.

“He received a sentence that was very fair, under the circumstances,” said Thomas C. Egan, Andrulonis’ attorney. “He just looks forward to moving on with his life with his family and his newborn child.”

Andrulonis’ defense team described him as a peaceful observer who did not physically or verbally attack law enforcement while inside the Capitol. In a presentencing letter submitted to the court, Andrulonis’ girlfriend, Christine Devine, said he was a “good person who made a mistake.”

But prosecutors said in their sentencing memo that Andrulonis had a “severe lack of remorse” for his actions, and presented a trove of photo evidence showing that he breached the building twice — reentering to snap photos and join other rioters who entered the office of a U.S. senator.

“Andrulonis did not accept the results of the 2020 presidential election, so on January 6 he invaded the Capitol not once, but twice,” prosecutors wrote. “Andrulonis has not expressed sincere remorse for his actions, and with the 2024 presidential election approaching, he poses a risk of recidivism.”

Surveillance footage captured Andrulonis entering the building through a broken window near the Senate Wing, milling about in the Rotunda, crypt, and stairs of the Old Supreme Court chamber as rioters hurled chairs at Capitol police officers.

Asked about his participation, Andrulonis told the court that police told him he could enter the building.

“They gave me permission … and that is the truth,” Andrulonis told Howell when pleading guilty in September, adding that he left the building the second time once he saw rioters were pushing against police lines in the Rotunda.

In addition to probation, Andrulonis was ordered to pay $500 in restitution.

Devine’s letter said Andrulonis’ son was born in October, and that since being charged, he’d lost his income, health insurance, and had been denied job offers.

“Watching him over the last 10 months try to hold it together for our family I think has been enough punishment,” Devine wrote.

Prosecutors said Andrulonis called out of work on the day of the riot, using his Amtrak badge to ride to Washington for free.

Inside the Capitol, Andrulonis snapped photographs during the riot on multiple occasions. In a selfie taken by another individual, Andrulonis can be seen sitting on a sofa in the office of Sen. Jeff Merkley (D., Ore.) wearing a red “Make America Great Again” beanie.

Andrulonis joins a list of over 60 Pennsylvanians convicted for their actions during the riot, most of them misdemeanors.