Public January 6 profile · ready to claim

William Michael Sywak

Pardoned January 6 defendant

Documented editorial-use image

William Michael Sywak is a Western New York father who went to Washington on January 6, 2021 with his son, and whose lawyer told a federal judge the two of them went together to bond, because they had not had a close relationship in the past. That is the whole story right there. A dad trying to get his boy back. William Michael Sywak was 46. His son, William Jason Sywak, the one everybody calls Billy, was 28. Father and son from Western New York. [FACT: CNN, June 9, 2022; Law and Crime, June 2022] In February 2022 both of them pleaded guilty to one count each: parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. A misdemeanor. The lowest count in the entire January 6 book. [FACT: DOJ docket summary; Law and Crime] Prosecutors asked the court for 30 days in jail for William Michael Sywak and 45 days for Billy. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras said no. He said he was disinclined to send nonviolent misdemeanor defendants to jail. [FACT: Law and Crime, June 2022] William Michael Sywak got two years of probation, four months of home confinement and $500 in restitution toward Capitol damage. Billy got 12 months of probation, two months of home confinement and $500 in restitution. Both were allowed to leave home for work, for medical care and for church. [FACT: Law and Crime, June 2022] No jail. Nonviolent. A father and a son. On January 20, 2025, President Trump granted clemency covering the January 6 prosecutions. THE RECORD Case 1:21-cr-494, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Arrested May 19, 2021. Initial appearance May 27, 2021. Charged by criminal information July 27, 2021. Arraigned August 17, 2021, pleaded not guilty to all counts. Pleaded guilty February 2, 2022 to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Sentenced June 2022 to 24 months probation, 4 months home confinement, $500 restitution. Note for the record: the DOJ link stored on this profile points to the page for William Jason Sywak, the son. That is a source link mismatch flagged for correction, not a statement about either man. NEEDS AUTHENTICATION. This profile is unclaimed. If this is you, or your family, claiming it is free, forever.