My life fell apart after being jailed in roach-infested cell for January 6 – Trump needs to pardon us without question

Casey Kozik and his father never thought it would end this way.

The Republican couple headed to Washington, D.C., from Florida with some friends in January 2021 to express their dismay at the growing anger surrounding Joe Biden's election win a few months earlier.

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The world is torn apart

They went in peace, but they returned with their lives torn to pieces.

The horrific scenes of violence and chaos at the Capitol shocked the world, and continue to reverberate to this day.

Cusick and his father, a proud pastor and Vietnam veteran who was 73 at the time, were also shocked.

“We went back to the hotel and just saw what happened on the news,” he told the US Sun. “We had no idea.”

Like thousands of others, the Koziks attended the organized rally, only considering venturing this far when Donald Trump said during his speech about “heading to the Capitol.”

Casey said he thought Trump would make a statement there. With coronavirus lockdowns turning the capital, like many other cities, into a ghost town with most places closed, he claimed there was “nothing else to do”.

They stayed for the entire march before making the short trip to the Capitol. All he could see was a “flood of people.”

“It was peaceful,” he admitted. “My father always said there was a preacher on every corner with a megaphone. People were talking, and some of them were standing there holding flags.”

But events began to take a violent turn for the worse.

Casey admits people were “starting to get stupid,” and he could see protesters climbing the scaffolding.

“I didn't do any of that,” he admitted.

Disturbing scenes

With the Capitol doors wide open, the Koziks climbed the steps and stood there, looking at the scenes unfolding. They were puzzled when they saw the “kids and grandmothers” coming out of the building.

They started thinking that maybe the cops were letting people in. They saw people clashing with officers and taking photos.

“I had to go to the bathroom, and it was very cold,” he continued. “Outside, the wind was blowing really hard, so I finally stopped a little girl and her father, and I said, ‘Do you know what’s going on inside?’ And she said, ‘Oh, they let people in there, just don’t touch anything.’”

Casey needed to use the bathroom. However, with the lines ridiculously long, the small business owner and host of the Watchmen podcast, who takes a “biblical view of the political world,” decided to walk out the same door.

They stood there for another 30 minutes, but when riot police began to gather, the Koziks returned to their residence.

“When we saw the news, I was like, ‘Oh my God,’” Casey recalls.

But what followed left him and his father both distraught and devastated.

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Some friends who traveled to D.C. were told during questioning by authorities on Biden's inauguration day that the Koziks were also present.

He continued: “The man was asked many questions, and he said that he went to the march with his pastor.” “He refused to mention any names and told me what happened later that day. And that was that.”

I will die for this country. I love my country. I would never do anything to hurt him.

Casey Cusick, the Republican who was at the US Capitol during the infamous riot on January 6, 2021

Meanwhile, Casey continued with his life. His small business was thriving, and his young family was growing.

But his world collapsed on the morning of June 24, six months after January 6.

At 7.45am there was a knock on the door. A group of FBI agents surrounded his home, equipped with AR-15-style rifles.

As his two young daughters and wife looked on, Casey was handcuffed and thrown into a waiting car.

“They scared the daylights out of everyone,” he said. “They started telling me it was all about January 6th. I thought: What should I do with it?” “

Meanwhile, his father also received an unexpected and early alarm call, and before they knew it, they were both being questioned. David Lesperance, 71, a member of the World Outreach Church in Melbourne, was also arrested.

Followed by the police

They were asked if they were members of the Oath Keepers or the Proud Boys and were questioned about their actions on that fateful day.

An arrest warrant was issued with District of Columbia letterhead, and it was soon discovered that police had been tracking his movements since January 6. Cars were stationed outside his house, tracking his every move.

“One of the officers told me they felt nervous when my truck disappeared,” he said incredulously. “They thought I had run away. How could I run away from something I didn't even know about? I immediately felt so dirty.”

“They've been tracking me for months.”

Father and son were transported to Orlando and entered into the system with their ankles shackled.

“Seeing my father, who received a Purple Heart and never committed a crime in his life, choked me up,” Casey said.

The nightmare gets worse

The Koziks have been charged with violent entry into the Capitol, entering and remaining on Capitol grounds, and disruptive and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. They were also subjected to another charge of sit-in and parade.

Casey admits he is “shocked and disgusted” by these accusations, especially for his father, who put his body on the line in Vietnam. They were taken to court, where they were put on trial before being released later that day.

But their nightmare continued for another two years. The court hearing began in D.C. in November 2023, and the immediate sentiment was not promising.

“On the first day of the trial, when the court announced United States v. Casey Cusick, it was a harsh reality check,” he said.

“I will die for this country. I love my country. I will never do anything to hurt it. I will never rebel — we didn't really know what that meant until all of this started, and so hearing those things and the federal government has opened my eyes against you, the justice system “Our country is very corrupt.”

Jury selection also started off troubling when they heard the judge trying to get jurors to “put aside their bias.”

Investigators, according to Casey, compiled “80 pages of surveillance information” while surveilling his home.

The friends began to separate themselves from the Koziks – “My parents received horrible things in the mail, the nature of which I can't even replicate” – but the worst happened as they were both sentenced to 10 days in jail.

They were also ordered to pay a fine of $3,000 and restitution of $500.

While James was sent to a facility in Florida, Casey was sent to a prison in Texas filled with child molesters and sex offenders.

“The guards have never seen anyone without a felony come into a federal prison,” he said. “The caseworker even admitted that there was no point in the assessment because by the time she was done, I was out.”

Hellscape Prison

The conditions were deplorable. From the cockroach infested water systems to the rotten eggs served for breakfast, the experience was amazing in more ways than one.

Casey dealt with pedophiles, Somali pirates, and gang members, all of whom were fed “some of the most disgusting things you've ever seen or tasted in your life.”

“You wouldn't give any of that stuff to animals,” he said with a shudder.

While both father and son went through the ordeal of imprisonment, their torment continued. They both obtained criminal records, and their passports are still with the authorities.

Casey has bravely moved on with his life – now an Oklahoma car salesman – although constant reminders of his Jan. 6 hell remain.

Now his young daughter recoils anxiously every time she sees a police officer. However, he acknowledges seeing the errors of the American justice system unfold before his eyes as an authentic learning experience.

“One of the things that has changed me since this started is that I will never look at the term prisoner again,” Casey admitted.

“Because when you think of a prisoner, you think of a murderer or a rapist or a thief. But you never think of someone who was wrongly accused, or perhaps didn't do what he was accused of. You keep seeing that over and over again.”

He is welcoming Trump to his second term and will celebrate hard once his return to the White House is signed and sealed on Monday.

He hopes more support will be provided as well. There is a possibility that Trump will pardon some people who were in DC on January 6.

As reported by the State Attorney's Office, more than 1,488 defendants have been charged, with 547 of them facing charges of assaulting, resisting or obstructing officers or employees.

Of those, approximately 163 individuals were charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing grievous bodily harm to an officer.

Nearly 140 police officers were assaulted at the Capitol, including about 80 from the U.S. Capitol Police and about 60 from the Metropolitan Police Department.

Whatever happens, Casey looks forward to a new dawn.

“I'm back on my feet now,” he concluded. “My life has been on hold for the past four years, but I don’t regret anything.”

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