Who are Deborah and Salvador Sandoval? Iowa mom and son among parent-child duos charged in Capitol riots
DES MOINES, IOWA: Two more people from Iowa, this one a mother and son duo, are facing charges for the January 6 riots at the US Capitol. Deborah Sandoval, of Des Moines, and her son, Salvador Sandoval Jr, of Ankeny, made their first appearances at court this Friday, February 19, on charges stemming from the terrifying attack that took the lives of five people, including that of a police officer.
The FBI Omaha Field Office reported that 54-year-old Deborah is charged with entering a restricted building, impeding the orderly conduct of government, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Her son Sandoval, 23, is being charged with obstructing law enforcement, entering a restricted building, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
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The duo is also the fourth parent-child duo charged in the Capitol riots. Others include Kevin Seefried and his son, Hunter Seefried; James Herman “Sonny” Uptmore and his son, Chance Anthony Uptmore; and Lisa Eisenhart and her son, Eric Munchel, reported The Washington Times.
The court records were uploaded on Friday evening, and show both mother and son to have been released from custody on a promise to reappear. Both are set to appear in person in Des Moines on February 25, and hearings will be carried over through a Washington DC video conference later the same day. While the Iowa cases' statement of fact detailing the charges were sealed on Friday, the original case against both Sandovals filed in DC district court was sealed in its entirety.
The other Iowans who've been arrested for their alleged involvement in the violent mob attack are Doug Jensen of Des Moines and Leo Kelly of Cedar Rapids. A video showed Jensen menacing a police officer near the Senate on the day the Congres was about to ratify Joe Biden's win in the November 2020 US presidential election. Jensen is facing seven charges including one for carrying a knife near where the then Vice President Mike Pence, and then Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris were meeting.
FBI investigators who interviewed Jensen reported that he believes in the QAnon conspiracy theory. He had entered the capitol building expecting authorities to arrest Democratic lawmakers. As for Kelly, the other Iowan facing charges, he admitted to entering the Capitol during the riot. Later Kelly told a Christian media outlet “We’ve been betrayed by Congress. We’ve been betrayed by the judicial branch. We’ve been betrayed by our local governments, our mayors.” Much like the Sandovals, other parent-child duos charged for the violence include a father and son from Delaware; another same duo from Texas; and a Tennessee man, who's been dubbed the "zip tie guy", who went with his mother, from Georgia.
The attack saw then President Donald Trump impeached by the house for a second time, this time for inciting the mob with false claims of the Democrats stealing the election. Trump was acquitted on a 57-43 vote in the Senate, with seven Republican Senators among those who voted to convict. Iowa's US Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst had voted not to convict the former president. This was the second time Trump was impeached, the first one dating back to when the 45th president of the United States was impeached on December 18, 2019, on two articles: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.