‘Doobie Smoker’ sentenced for role in Jan. 6 riot

A man who stormed the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack and dubbed himself the “Doobie Smoker” on social media after he smoked marijuana in the rotunda was sentenced to two years’ probation Thursday.

Federal prosecutors had pushed for Eduardo Nicolas Alvear Gonzalez, whom the government described as a “self-employed social media influencer,” to be sentenced to three months in jail, arguing that his frequent self-promotion and public statements describing the riot as “beautiful” raised serious concerns about his respect for the rule of law.

“He hasn’t shown remorse,” prosecutor Anne Veldhuis said at a sentencing hearing. “He has repeatedly mischaracterized and glorified the events of January 6.”

Gonzalez had already spent about 45 days in jail after his arrest, and U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper indicated Thursday that the time he had served factored into the decision to issue a sentence of probation.

Gonzalez spent about 30 minutes inside the Capitol and was recorded saying he was smoking marijuana in the Capitol for “freedom.” He has also described rioters as “American patriots.”

His decision to smoke weed in the Capitol rotunda “underscores his somewhat flippant and cavalier attitude about what was happening that day,” Veldhuis argued.

A previous attorney for Gonzalez argued in a court filing that Gonzalez is remorseful, regrets entering the Capitol and now “believes he and others were tools used by others to attack the Capitol.” That having been being said, the attorney wrote, “he also feels that he has a right to express his views on the election result and respond to criticisms and characterizations he feels are unwarranted.”

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