Steven Miles, a gay adult film actor and member of the Proud Boys, has been sentenced to two years in prison for his role in the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
The 40-year-old, who performs under the name “Sergeant Miles,” previously pled guilty in October to a felony charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding a law enforcement officer.
On February 9, Judge Jia Cobb sentenced Miles to 24 months in prison plus 12 months of supervised release, and ordered him to pay a fine of $2,000.
According to prosecutors, Miles — who has become known for his right-wing political views — traveled from his hometown, just outside of Tampa, Florida, to Washington, D.C. to protest the results of the 2020 presidential election.
He and other members of the Proud Boys attended a “Save America” rally organized by conservative groups, at which former President Donald Trump spoke. They then left the rally site early, before the speeches began, and walked to the West Front of the U.S. Capitol.
Clad in a desert-camouflaged jacket and jungle camo pants, Miles breached the Capitol’s restricted perimeter and confronted U.S. Capitol Police officers in riot gear who had formed a defensive line to protect the building. The confrontation quickly escalated, at which point Miles shoved and attempted to punch an officer while trying to break through the line, according to the criminal complaint against him.
Miles reportedly made additional physical contact with law enforcement officers, seeking to obstruct, impede, and interfere with their efforts to hold back rioters.
Eventually, the crowd breached the police line, and Miles and others surged forward with the intent of entering the Capitol building.
Around 2:10 p.m., Miles ascended an exterior staircase to reach the Upper West Terrace. Three minutes later, Miles used a wooden plank to help smash a window of the Senate Wing Door, opening up another breach point for protesters to enter the building. Miles then entered the Capitol through the broken window.
Upon entering the building, he turned toward the Senate chamber, where he encountered another group of police officers who directed him out of the building.
According to Tampa-area NBC affiliate WFLA, a woman who was present at the Capitol that day tipped off the FBI, claiming she had posed for a photo with two men who told her they had entered the Capitol building by breaking a window.
The women told FBI agents that one of the men — later identified as Miles’s co-defendant, Matthew Lebrun — said he was from New Orleans and the other said he was from Portland. (Miles has Oregon ties, according to phone records.)
Based on that tip, the FBI arrested Miles on April 12, in Zephyrhills. He was charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, civil disorder, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon, and related offenses.
Among the evidence against Miles was a photo of him at the Capitol wearing a jacket with his last name on it and a T-shirt reading, “Trump 2020: Fuck Your Feelings.”
Other evidence included a video that prosecutors claimed showed Miles and Lebrun engaged in a confrontation with police, during which Miles allegedly shoved and threw punches at officers. Additional video footage showed Miles smashing a window of the Capitol building and climbing through the hole he created.
Phone records from AT&T and geolocation data from Google were used to confirm that Miles was at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The Google email address linked to Miles included the phrase “Sgt. Miles,” an abbreviation of his adult entertainment alias.
Miles later decided to plead guilty to the assault-related charge. He is one of more than 1,313 individuals who have been charged for breaching the Capitol on January 6, including more than 469 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
A military veteran married to a woman, Miles reportedly “accepted full responsibility for the crime which he committed” and said he was “humbled and humiliated” by his actions, according to court documents.
However, LGBTQ Nation reported that this month, he reposted images on X blaming the FBI, the so-called “Deep State” and “#BLMAntifaTerroristThugs” for “stag[ing] a riot to cover up a stolen election.”
Those posts reportedly repeat unsubstantiated claims of nationwide voter fraud, which former President Trump has claimed cost him the election. Miles has since deactivated his personal X account.
As an adult film star, he has appeared in various videos for high-profile studios known for their gay and bisexual content, including Lucas Entertainment, Falcon, Hot House, and Raging Stallion, since starting in the adult film industry in 2013.
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