#WalkAway Movement Founder Sentenced to Home Detention For Role in Jan. 6 Capitol Attack

Brandon Straka, a pro-Trump social media influencer and founder of the once-popular #WalkAway movement, was sentenced Monday to three months of home detention after pleading guilty to a disorderly conduct charge related to his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Straka, a former New York City hairstylist, pleaded guilty in October on charges relating to joining the pro-Trump mob that breached the U.S. Capitol, at times encouraging rioters to enter the building.

Straka can be heard on video footage from that day yelling, “go, go, go” and “take it, take it,” as rioters fought a Capitol police officer for his riot shield, according to court documents reported on by Insider.

Judge Dabney Friedrich, who sentenced Straka, rebuked the defense’s argument that the social media influencer did not comprehend the severity of his actions on January 6.

“It’s very hard to draw that conclusion, looking at the video footage and particularly his comments at the time, and immediately thereafter,” Friedrich said, noting that Straka told rioters to “hold the line” as a police officer was under attack by the violent mob.

The #WalkAway social media campaign was launched ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. The movement purported to post confessionals from former Democrats explaining why they left the Democratic Party and joined the pro-Trump movement. The Facebook page from the movement had over half a million followers at its height and was shuttered after Straka’s indictment for his participation on Jan. 6.

As the leader of the #WalkAway movement, Straka became a popular figure in pro-Trump circles and spoke at the pro-Trump rally that preceded the attack on the U.S. Capitol.