Decorated veteran from McKean County, 75, gets fine for role in Capitol riot

A decorated sailor in Vietnam, William Blauser Jr. serves as commander of his local American Legion post and spearheaded an effort to get a veterans’ memorial installed in his community, which he continues to maintain.

On Thursday, Blauser, 75, of Ludlow, McKean County, was ordered to pay a $500 fine and $500 in restitution for his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Blauser pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 15 to a misdemeanor count of parading or demonstrating in a Capitol building.

“I was caught up in something I truly regret,” Blauser wrote in a statement to the court. “If I had a chance to redeem myself, I would certainly do that in a heartbeat. All I can do is sincerely apologize to my country and the court for my actions.”

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden said were it not for Blauser’s unblemished record and reputation for service in his community, the sentence would have been different.

“We all make mistakes,” the judge said, “and Jan. 6 was yours.”

The government said Blauser traveled with his best friend, Pauline Bauer, to attend former President Trump’s rally that day and then walked to the Capitol building, pushing past law enforcement and entering the building at 2:43 p.m.

Video taken inside the Capitol showed they were involved in a skirmish with law enforcement in which Blauser lowered his shoulder against an officer.

Assistant U.S. Attorney James D. Peterson told the court that he believed Blauser was trying to keep Bauer from engaging with police and was trying to extricate her from what was happening. They remained inside until 3:21 p.m.

They were charged on May 18 after Bauer, the owner of Bob’s Trading Post, posted on her Facebook page.

Bauer remains incarcerated on the charges against her and has previously claimed that she is a sovereign people. Bauer was initially granted pretrial release, but refused to follow the rules set for her and was taken back into custody on Sept. 17. She refers to herself in court documents as “Pauline from the House of Bauer.”

She has a status conference scheduled for Feb. 18.

During Blauser’s sentencing hearing on Thursday, Peterson acknowledged Blauser’s laudable personal history. But he also said the magnitude of the event cannot be overstated.

“A mob is not a mob without people,” Peterson said. “Mr. Blauser is one of those people who were part of the mob.”

As it has done in other misdemeanor cases, the government sought a sentence of three months of home detention, three years of probation and 60 hours of community service.

Defense attorney Rammy Barbari asked for probation.

“He’s a pillar of his community,” he said. “He lived an unblemished life for 75 years.”

In his sentencing brief, Barbari told the court that Blauser has been married for more than 50 years, has one adult daughter and is the oldest of six children.

He grew up with an abusive father and helped to provide for his family, which was poor, by fishing, picking berries and apples. The family home had no bathroom until he was 15, Barbari wrote.

Blauser retired from the U.S. Postal Service in 2004 with health problems, but was known to carry dog treats with him as he walked his route.

Barbari described Blauser as a devout Christian who is active in his church and a faithful and helpful friend. Several friends and family members submitted letters on his behalf.

McFadden told Blauser that a lot of Americans wonder how a “political rally turned into such a catastrophe.”

“What went wrong on that day?” McFadden asked him.

The defendant said he had hoped to visit the Vietnam memorial in Washington that day, and that he and Bauer had planned to hear a speech by a Pennsylvania senator.

“He’s a man speaking for our freedoms,” Blauser said. “That’s what I fought very hard for in Vietnam — our freedoms.”

But Blauser said that when he and Bauer left the area of the rally, they were told to head to the Capitol building.

“Somehow, someway, a spur of the moment thing, it just happened,” Blauser said.

McFadden said he wasn’t questioning Blauser’s right to protest or attend a political rally, but wondered how a man of Blauser’s character got swept up like that. He said that he could see how Blauser could have been coerced by Bauer that day, and that Blauser’s actions, in pushing back against law enforcement, were designed to restrain her and keep her safe.

Because of Blauser’s history and that he was attempting to protect Bauer that day, McFadden said he felt that neither probation nor home detention were appropriate.

“I accept your apology and sincere remorse for what occurred,” the judge said.