Federal judge orders release of John Strand from Jan. 6 prison term

John Herbert Strand, a former model and actor, was released from prison on July 15 following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that limited the use of a 20-year felony obstruction charge.

United States District Judge Christopher Cooper granted Strand’s second motion for release since February, in light of the Supreme Court ruling that restricted the obstruction of an official proceeding charge against Strand and 354 other Jan. 6 defendants.

Dr. Simone Gold of America’s Frontline Doctors, a friend of Strand who had previously served a 60-day prison sentence on a misdemeanor count of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, commended Strand’s integrity upon learning of his release order.

‘Who is the God that shall deliver you out of my hand?’

“He was offered a single misdemeanor plea,” Gold said in an interview with Blaze News. “He said, ‘I’m going to walk into the fire.’ He walked into the fire. He never regretted it. I mean, he’s a full-on hero in an age when we need heroes.”

Strand, aged 41 and residing in Naples, Fla., is set to complete a 12-month sentence for four Jan. 6 misdemeanor charges, resulting in his release on July 24.

Initially sentenced to 32 months, Strand may perceive his impending release as a miraculous occurrence akin to the experience of three Old Testament figures who inspired him during his lengthy ordeal on Jan. 6.

According to Gold, Strand has a deep appreciation for the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as recounted in chapter 3 of the book of Daniel.

This narrative describes how these three individuals were bound tightly and cast into a fiery furnace for their refusal to worship a colossal golden idol commissioned by Babylonian King Nabuchodonosor (Nebuchadnezzar).

“Who is the God that shall deliver you out of my hand?” the king asked.

The fire, nevertheless, did not engulf Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. An angel extinguished the flames “and made the inside of the furnace feel like a gentle breeze bringing dew, and the fire did not harm them,” as described by Daniel.

John Strand captured a speech delivered by Dr. Simone Gold in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol. On January 6, 2021, Strand served as Gold’s bodyguard.

“And they walked in the midst of the flame, praising God and blessing the Lord.”

Strand is set to be released from the Federal Correctional Institution in Oakdale, La. after completing a one-year sentence.

During his time there, he spent around four months in solitary confinement but remained steadfast in his decision to go to trial instead of accepting a plea deal.

Despite facing pressure to do otherwise, he believed that the charges against him were unjust.

Strand was found guilty by a federal District of Columbia jury on Sept. 27, 2022, which included a 20-year felony obstruction charge.

He and Gold had intended to speak about medical freedom and COVID-19 at an event on Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, but the event was canceled due to the large crowds that swarmed the Capitol after a speech by then-President Donald J. Trump.

After entering the Capitol, Gold and Strand moved to Statuary Hall where Gold attempted to give her speech on medical freedom. Following police intervention pushing the crowd out, they relocated to the Great Rotunda where Gold delivered her speech using a bullhorn from the platform of a statue of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower.

‘I think the world needs heroes. We’ve got one.’

Left-wing publications including Rolling Stone and others mocked Strand’s decision to go to trial and celebrated his conviction, calling him a “model-turned-Covid-19 conspiracy theorist” and an “underwear model turned insurrectionist.”

“If there is anything that this case can teach us, it’s that a male model’s life is a precious, precious commodity,” Rolling Stone wrote in September 2022. “Just because they have chiseled abs and stunning features, it doesn’t mean that they, too, can’t go to jail.”

On June 1, 2023, Cooper sentenced Strand to 32 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release and ordered him to pay $12,170 in restitution and fines.

Gold said she hopes Strand will go into public life after his release.

“I’m going to encourage John to run for office,” she said. “I think the world needs heroes. We’ve got one. The world needs men who stand up. Men who walk into the fight.”