Court documents unsealed this week say that a Pennsylvania man who was sentenced in secret for his role in the U.S. Capitol riot cooperated with authorities investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack and an unrelated case. The documents provide insight into the unusual secrecy regarding Samuel Lazar, who was released from federal custody in September after completing his sentence in his Capitol riot case. His case remained under seal even after his release, so there was no public record of a conviction or sentence. More than 1,200 people have been charged with Jan. 6-related crimes, and hundreds have pleaded guilty. It's rare for records of a guilty plea and sentence to be sealed.
