The Des Moines Register reports that January 6th participant Doug Jensen of Iowa has been released early from prison. Jensen was sentenced to serve 5 years in December 2022. Jensen was transferred to a halfway house in January, where he will be allowed to find employment, have phone access, and will be allowed to return home on weekends.
People will recognize Jensen as the man “leading the pack” of rioters pursuing Officer Eugene Goodman as he lured the rioters away from areas where legislators had been moved to. Jensen was apparently one of the many who have gone down the Qanon rabbit hole.
Jensen’s wife April created a fundraiser on a Christian version of GoFundMe called GiveSendGo in 2021 after Jensen was arrested and over the years it has received over 800 donations (though the site doesn’t seem to display what amounts are donated or the total donation amounts).
April Jensen’s last update on the site, dated January 30, 2024, has this to say:
1,117 draining days we’ve been going through this nightmare🤬
14 days I’ve been blessed to have him back, close to home!
He’s working on finding a job! His union’s being “a$&holes” so he’s fighting that right now!
The biggest hold up is needing to get him a cheap, reliable car to be able to drive himself to work! Once he’s working, he’ll be able to come home for furloughs on the weekends! AND……he’ll be able to give me those checks so I’m not drowning anymore😁💙
We are forever grateful for all of you! If you are willing and able to donate, we are saving for a cheap car!
Thank you and God Bless
According to the Register,
Before his sentence was announced, Jensen said in court: "I can't change my past, I can just look to the future."
He added that he doesn't plan to get "involved in the judicial system" again and that he wants to go back to being the "family man I was before I got involved in politics.''
Hopefully his time in prison has given him a chance to shed his Qanon beliefs.