Public January 6 profile · ready to claim
Stephen Ethan Horn
January 6 defendant; independent journalist and documentary creator
Stephen Ethan Horn is an independent journalist and documentary filmmaker from Raleigh, North Carolina. He went to the Capitol on January 6 with a helmet camera running, and the footage he shot became a film. Stephen Horn was 23 years old on January 6, 2021. [FACT, press reporting] He was not on assignment for any outlet. He was a citizen journalist doing what citizen journalists do, which is show up and record. [FACT and THEIR ACCOUNT, his defense position at trial] THE WORK In September 2023, days before his federal trial began, Stephen Horn released "79 Minutes: The Breach of the Capitol," a documentary tracing the sequence of events from the first violence at the edge of Capitol grounds to the breach of the building itself. [FACT, j6documentary.com and contemporaneous coverage] He has continued publishing independent research and document analysis on January 6 at his own Locals page. [FACT, self-published at stephenhorn.locals.com] Whatever anyone thinks about that day, the raw record of it exists in part because a young man from Raleigh, North Carolina kept his camera on. THE LEGAL FIGHT Stephen Ethan Horn was arrested April 9, 2021. [FACT, DOJ] He pleaded not guilty and took his case to trial rather than plead out. On September 18, 2023 a District of Columbia jury convicted him on four misdemeanor counts: entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, violent entry and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. [FACT, DOJ and court record] He was sentenced January 10, 2024 to 12 months probation, a fine, and 90 hours of community service. [FACT, Epoch Times and Carolina Journal] No felony. No prison. THE CLEMENCY On January 20, 2025, a presidential proclamation granted full pardons for January 6 offenses. Stephen Horn is listed by the Office of the Pardon Attorney as a pardon certificate recipient. [FACT] CASE RECORD Case number: 1:21-cr-00301-TJK Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Arrested: April 9, 2021 Disposition: Jury conviction on four misdemeanors 9/18/2023; sentenced 1/10/2024 to probation; fully pardoned 1/20/2025 DOJ: justice.gov/usao-dc/defendants/horn-stephen-ethan Docket: courtlistener.com/docket/59834354/united-states-v-horn/ This profile is unclaimed. If this is you — or your family — claiming it is free, forever.
The case file
On the record
- Case number
- 1:21-cr-00301-TJK
- Court
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- Judge
- Timothy J. Kelly
- Disposition
- Pleaded not guilty. Jury convicted on all four misdemeanor counts on September 18, 2023. Sentenced January 10, 2024. Covered convictions fully pardoned January 20, 2025; listed by the Office of the Pardon Attorney as a certificate recipient.
- Arrested
- April 9, 2021
- Sentenced
- January 10, 2024
Charges
- 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(1) — Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building
- 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(2) — Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building
- 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(D) — Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building
- 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(G) — Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building
Sentence
12 months of probation; 90 hours of community service; $2,000 fine. A $70 special assessment is reported by secondary trackers but awaits signed-judgment verification.
Press & news
- https://www.justice.gov/pardon/freedom-information-act-foia-release-pardon-certificate-recipients →
- https://nsjonline.com/article/2026/05/searchable-database-of-coopers-pandemic-prisoner-releases-launched/ →
- https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/independent-journalist-sentenced-to-probation-for-entering-us-capitol-on-jan-6-post-5562539 →
- https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article279524744.html →
- https://extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs5746/files/Stephen%20Horn%20Information.pdf →
- https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/59834354/united-states-v-horn/ →
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=016G-I9KfHU →
- https://stephenhorn.locals.com/ →
- https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/independent-journalist-stephen-horn-found-guilty-of-4-jan-6-misdemeanors-5493764 →
- https://discerninghistory.com/2024/01/79-minutes-the-breach-of-the-capitol-on-january-6th/ →
- https://1776returns.com/2023/09/11/groundbreaking-documentary-released-by-january-6-defendant-stephen-horn-just-days-before-facing-trial/ →
- https://www.carolinajournal.com/independent-north-carolina-journalist-sentenced-in-j6-case/ →
- https://j6documentary.com/ →
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Connection to United States v. Nichols
Stephen Ethan Horn appears in the record of United States v. Nichols through 6 shared documents on file below. The full case — timeline, people, documents — is public and free.
Walk the whole case →Evidence on file
6 documents on file
Court1 document
Court orders, rulings, transcripts, and docket entries.
indictment · Apr 13, 2021
United States v. Stephen Ethan Horn — Criminal Information
Native three-page criminal information filed as ECF No. 5 on April 13, 2021. The filing charged four misdemeanor counts. A charging instrument records allegations; the later jury verdict and judgment determine disposition.
Govt response1 document
Responses from DC DOC, the U.S. Marshals, and federal agencies.
other · Jan 20, 2025
Office of the Pardon Attorney Record Listing Stephen Ethan Horn
Official DOJ Office of the Pardon Attorney page listing HORN, STEPHEN ETHAN among January 6 pardon-certificate recipients.
News4 documents
Press coverage.
article · May 6, 2026
Stephen Horn Discusses Public-Records Database and January 6 Experience
North State Journal report on a public-records database created by Horn, including direct attributed statements concerning the project and his January 6 experience.
audio · Feb 22, 2025
Stephen Horn — Arms and Arguments Interview
Publisher-catalog listing for an interview with Stephen Horn about his January 6 experience and creation of 79 Minutes. Statements are preserved as attributed firsthand material.
video · Jan 2, 2024
79 Minutes: The Breach of the Capitol on January 6th
Full documentary connected to Stephen Ethan Horn’s profile. The verified publisher page describes a timeline from the initial Capitol-grounds breach to the building breach and states that the film examines multiple perspectives, crowd behavior, police tactics, and source footage.
article · Sep 18, 2023
Stephen Ethan Horn Jury Verdict and Journalism-Defense Record
Contemporaneous reporting on the September 18, 2023 jury verdict, Horn’s stated documentary purpose, the defense journalism argument, the prosecution response, and use of Horn’s footage at trial.