By Beth Lawrence
A former Sylva business owner has been sentenced for his part in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection after accepting a plea deal earlier this year.
Lewis Easton Cantwell, 36, of Waynesville, pleaded guilty to obstructing, impeding or interfering with law enforcement officers during the commission of civil disorder in March.
He was sentenced in federal court on Dec. 6 to five months in prison and 36 months probation following his incarceration. He is also ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.
Cantwell is the former co-owner of the Sip Sum Kava Bar, which was located at 1165 West Main St. in Sylva.
His alleged part in the riots of Jan. 6, 2021, which interrupted a joint session of Congress to certify the November 2020 presidential election results, came to light in the days after the insurrection with a since-deleted post to Cantwell’s Facebook page and circulation of videos purporting to show Cantwell’s actions that day. The cell phone videos were later verified during the FBI’s investigation.
In the post, Cantwell claims he was there as an observer, but his actions in the videos show something different.
“It is my right to go to any event I want,” Cantwell’s post reads. “Yesterday was historic, and I went to see something. I just wasn’t aware I would see what I saw. People got mad when [P]ence didn’t do what they wanted, so Trump supporters stormed that building, not Antifa, not BLM, not undercover feds. That’s all garbage lies. I talked to people up front. Most were veterans and small business owners.”
Cantwell urged mob
Earlier that day supporters of then-President Donald Trump held an assembly dubbed the “Save America Rally” in support of Trump’s claim that the election was stolen. Several speakers, including NC-11 Representative Madison Cawthorn, addressed the crowd using bellicose language . Around noon Trump urged the crowd to go to the Capitol. By 2 p.m. the Capitol building had been overrun by Trump supporters, including Cantwell, breaking through doors, smashing windows and shouting slogans such as “Stop the steal” and “Hang Mike Pence.”
In the videos, a man alleged to be Cantwell can be seen at an entrance to the building where Capitol police are attempting to keep rioters out and get a set of sliding doors closed. Cantwell urged the crowd to “get the door open” and later screamed we need “fresh patriots to the front.”
“At times, Cantwell can be seen participating in the mob rocking back and forth while others chanted ‘heave ho’ as they pushed against police,” a DOJ press release said. “He also helped propel a flagpole toward the Lower West Terrace tunnel, where a variety of objects were used to assault police.”
The DOJ release also states that Cantwell is responsible for making a number of videos while on the Capitol’s restricted grounds.
“In one video, estimated to be taken between 2:15 p.m. and 2:40 p.m., Cantwell filmed himself as he said, ‘we’ve essentially stormed the Capitol building ... we’re tired of the bullshit,’” the release said. “In another video from the same time and locations, Cantwell proclaimed, ‘liberty or death.’”
The DOJ said Cantwell entered the Lower West Terrace tunnel at 2:40 p.m. and stayed there for nearly 40 minutes before police were able to briefly clear it. Following that, he stayed nearby on the Lower West Terrace for another hour until 4:18 p.m.
Cantwell told the FBI that he had gone to the area to “help” people.
Cantwell admitted to wrongdoing in a statement of offense he signed in February, almost a year after his initial arrest.
“When Cantwell encouraged the rioters to get the door open and encouraged more rioters to come to the front where the rioters were battling with officers, the defendant knew that the officers were engaged in the performance of official duties,” the statement reads.
The statement is an account of the day’s events and Cantwell’s alleged involvement; in it Cantwell attests that he signed it voluntarily and that the facts are accurate and true.
Cantwell is one of many who originally claimed there was little to no damage done to the building that day.
In the statement of offense, he acknowledges that is not true.
The statement spells out that the riots caused “substantial damage” to the Capitol costing in excess of $1.4 million to restore.
The FBI is still investigating the insurrection and requests tips; call 800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
