Central Texas vineyard owner sentenced to prison in Jan. 6 insurrection

Christopher Grider, the Central Texas vineyard owner who claims the government misinterpreted his intentions after he entered the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced to just less than seven years in prison Tuesday for his role in the unprecedented insurrection.

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced the 41-year-old Grider in Washington, D.C., to 83 months in federal prison. She also ordered him to make $5,044 in restitution for the damage he caused to the iconic building and to be placed on supervised release for three years following his release from prison.

Grider, who has three sons and a 3-week-old daughter, was seeking a prison term in the range of 18 months, while the government asked the judge to send him to prison for a term at the high end of the sentencing guidelines recommendation. He faced a maximum prison term of 39½ years.

Grider, whose wife and infant daughter attended Tuesday’s sentencing, requested that he be allowed to serve his time at the federal prison in Bastrop. The judge allowed him to remain free until July 18, when he was ordered to voluntarily surrender to the federal Bureau of Prisons. The judge also ordered Grider to surrender the $800 he raised in a Go Fund Me account before it was closed.