Billy, his daughter and wife. (photo credit B. Chrestman)
By Patriot Legal Defense
Pardoned J6 prisoner Billy Chrestman wakes each morning with a knot in his stomach, the
weight of an uncertain future pressing down on him.
At 51, he’s starting from scratch—his career, home, and reputation obliterated by a
government he once served honorably.
A proud veteran and father, he’s now on the brink of homelessness, scraping by to keep a
roof over his family’s head in a small rented apartment.
Every dollar he earns is swallowed by legal fees in a desperate custody battle to be reunited
with his 10-year-old daughter, a fight weaponized by an ex-wife using his January 6
“terrorist” label to keep them apart.
At least half the country sees Chrestman as a pariah, an “insurrectionist” smeared by
mainstream media, but his crime? Walking through the open doors of the Capitol building
on January 6, 2021, as police officers welcomed him in.
Now, he’s unemployable, shunned by employers that are terrified of backlash for hiring a
“domestic terrorist.”
photo credit: Billy Chrestman
Without immediate support, Chrestman and his family face eviction, and he may never be
restored custody of his daughter.
“They took everything from me,” Chrestman told the Gateway Pundit in an exclusive
interview, his voice cracking with the strain of holding back tears. “My career, my home, my
possessions. I had to give up my tools last week – the tools I need to work with my hands.
We lost our storage locker, the last bit of what we owned. I’m 51 years old, and I’m starting
over with nothing.”
** SUPPORT BILLY CHRESTMAN’S FAMILY AND LEGAL DEFENSE HERE**
Chrestman’s ordeal began when he joined thousands in Washington, D.C., to protest what
he believed was a stolen election.
A member of the Proud Boys, he walked into the Capitol through an open door, asking
police officers on video if it was okay to enter.
“They said, ‘Yeah, it’s a public building. Just be respectful,’” Billy recalls.
Inside, he organized others to pick up trash and stopped agitators he suspected were Antifa
infiltrators from causing chaos.
“We were respectful. We chanted ‘Back the Blue’ to the cops. I did no violence, no
vandalism. I thought we were within our rights.”
Yet, the government charged him with serious crimes, including obstruction of an official
proceeding and aiding and abetting, painting him as a dangerous extremist.
Mainstream media amplified the narrative, branding him a “domestic terrorist” and Proud
Boy “insurrectionist.” The label stuck, and the consequences have been catastrophic.
The reality was far different: Chrestman’s actions were nonviolent, his presence in the
Capitol brief and orderly. Still, he was sentenced to 55 months in prison, serving years in
the “D.C. gulag,” where he spent over a year in solitary confinement.
Photo courtesy of B. Chrestman
Released after a pardon, Billy returned to a world that no longer welcomed him. His
construction career, built over decades with the sheet metal workers, was gone.
“I’ve applied for dozens of jobs,” he said. “Lost count. As soon as they run a background
check, it’s over. One employer told me straight up he’s scared of the blowback if he hires a
J6er. He said it’s a liability to his family’s livelihood. I get it, but it kills me. I can’t feed my
family.”
The financial ruin started before his arrest. The COVID-19 shutdowns slowed construction
work, leaving Chrestman behind on his mortgage. When unemployment benefits were
delayed by Kansas’s antiquated system, he fell further into debt.
Then, President Biden’s mortgage forbearance promise—later struck down by the Supreme
Court—left him owing eight months of payments at once. The mortgage company refused
to negotiate.
“They wanted 100% or nothing,” Chrestman said. “We were so close to catching up, but
then J6 happened, and I was arrested.”
Three years into his incarceration, his family lost their home, the only one his children had
ever known.
“That was the first time I cried in prison,” he admits. “I had this knot in my stomach,
worrying about my family, and I couldn’t do anything.”
Now, Chrestman’s family teeters on the edge of homelessness again. A fundraiser
organized by a Montana sheriff kept them afloat for six months, covering $1,000 of their
rent each month. But that support can’t last forever.
“We’re so grateful,” Chrestman said, “but nobody can help forever. Without more help,
we’re done. We’ll be on the street.”
Billy with his two older daughters (photo credit: B. Chrestman)
The Veterans Administration offers no relief; a “sensitive nine” designation on his records
blocks access to his medical history, stalling his benefits.
“The VA system is notorious for being overly complicated and cumbersome. Veterans rely
on advocacy groups like Disabled American Veterans to help us navigate the VA and stand
up for our rights. But with the security classification of a ‘sensitive nine,’ advocacy groups
are prohibited from accessing my records and therefore can’t assist me in any way.
When the VA denies you, it just wears you down,” he explains. “Without an advocacy group,
you’re screwed. And I can’t even get my records.”
But Chrestman’s greatest anguish isn’t financial, it’s the fight for his daughter.
His daughter’s mother, leveraging his J6 conviction, is blocking his custody rights, arguing
he’s unfit because he went to prison.
Before January 6, they co-parented amicably, splitting custody 50-50. Now he’s fighting to
be in his daughter in court, which around the country have been proving to be weaponized
activist judges.
“My daughter’s begging to spend time with me,” Billy says, his voice breaking. “She has now
been separated from her dad for over four years. I love her to death. The worst punishment
of all this was being away from my kids. I won’t gamble with losing her.”
** SUPPORT BILLY CHRESTMAN’S FAMILY AND LEGAL DEFENSE HERE***
The custody battle has drained what little money Billy had. He retained a lawyer, but the
thousands of dollars he paid for the retainer are gone, and he needs thousands more to
continue.
“The guardian ad litem was $2,000,” he says. “Counseling, court fees—it’s a couple
hundred here, a couple thousand there. People say custody battles cost about $20,000.
I’ve already spent everything I have fighting to be in my daughter’s life. Now, I’ve run out of
cash and I’ve been without a lawyer for a month.”
Without funds, he risks losing his daughter to a court system that may see him as the
“terrorist” the media portrays.
Billy’s story isn’t just his own—it’s a warning to every American.
“I’m nobody, but I’m anybody,” he says. “I could be your neighbor, your dad. I did nothing
illegal that day, but they took everything. This can happen to you.”
The truth about the attack on Trump supporters on January 6 will come to light, Chrestman
assured, alleging foreign governments and political operatives orchestrated chaos on that
day to entrap Trump supporters.
“We’ve got the receipts—video, text messages,” he claims. “People in the government want
the facts. It’s going to shock people.”
Yet, even among January 6 defendants, trust is scarce.
Chrestman described “grifters” who exploited the cause, raising millions in donations but
distributing only a fraction.“One guy used my story to tug at heartstrings, raised money for my family, but we never saw
it,” he says. “The organizations that sprang up to help J6ers would give $20 to commissary
here and there, but pocket the rest. It’s disgusting.”
Billy’s fight is for more than survival — it’s for his daughter, his dignity, and the truth.
“I just want a fighting chance,” he said. “I served my country, worked hard, bought a home,
raised my kids. Now it’s all gone, and I’m begging for help to keep my family together.”
His voice trembles as he speaks of his daughter. “She deserves her dad. I’m not abusive,
I’m not unfit. Why would you deny her that?”
Without immediate donations, Billy faces eviction. Every dollar counts—$10, $50, $100—
toward rent and legal fees to reunite a father with his child.
His story is a gut-wrenching testament to a system that punishes dissent, breaks families,
and leaves good men with nothing but their resolve.
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