California man stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Now he’s teaching art to kids
Tommy Frederick Allan, a Rocklin man convicted of one felony count of obstructing an official proceeding for his participation in the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, is now an instructor at Liberty Learning Ministries, a Christian education program run through The Family Church in Roseville.
Allan was one of thousands of protesters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 in support of former President Donald Trump, who believed the 2020 election was "stolen" from him when he lost to President Joe Biden. Allan climbed a wall to enter the Capitol and was one of the few insurrectionists to enter the Senate chambers, where he stood at the dais with a stolen American flag and other protesters, including the so-called "QAnon Shaman." According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, he was released in May of this year.
Now, he is an instructor of art and photography in a classroom setting for 6th-12th grade students.
The Sacramento Bee confirmed Allan and his wife, Hollie, both teach in the program. A " Mr. Allan " is listed on the website as an elective teacher for students in 6th-12th grades. An August 28 Liberty Learning Ministries Instagram post shows Allan standing in a classroom with "Welcome to Mr. Allan's Class!" written on a whiteboard, with a caption indicating that the photos were from "Back to Liberty Night."
The school, which is privately funded and independently run, is a private membership association, and not accredited. Children enrolled in the program are called "learners," not students.
The program website emphasizes that Liberty Learning Ministries is not a school — "it's better." "Learners" are taught in a "multi-age classroom" setting, and programs are offered for students from transitional kindergarten through 12th grade with the Abeka Christian school and homeschooling curriculum.
"Liberty Learning is not accredited but provides a faith-based education that goes beyond the classroom and focuses not only on academics, but character, morals, and good citizenship," the website states. According to the program website, Liberty Learning Ministries is also "committed to medical freedom and no vaccinations, or medical records, are required to enroll."
Allan's position with Liberty Learning Ministries was first rumored on a Facebook page called The Voices of Placer earlier this month. A Liberty Learning Ministries Instagram post from August 29 shows Allan and the rest of the program staff at Red Door Escape Room. Allan, 56, did not respond to The Bee's requests for comment or interview, and his employer, Pastor Matthew Oliver, declined to comment after several attempts to arrange an interview, but said in a public Facebook post that he is "in the business of redemption and restoration."
"Liberty Ministries and myself are in the business of redemption and restoration!" he wrote. "I have spent the last 25 years of my life working to see people restored and healed. The Sac Bee simply wants a headline that destroys lives and brings guilt and shame. We all have pasts. I am interested in building our futures."
Oliver is currently running for a seat on the Rocklin City Council. He ran an unsuccessful bid for the same position in 2022. He became a local right-wing firebrand in 2020 when he refused to close his Roseville restaurant and wine bar, House of Oliver, and eschewed Gov. Gavin Newsom's public health policies, including mask mandates.
Oliver's 2024 campaign has earned endorsements from two school board members at the Roseville Joint Union High School District, Heidi Hall and Pete Constant, and Jason Walker at the Dry Creek Joint Elementary School District in the Roseville area.
Constant and Hall did not respond, and Walker said he did not have a comment.
Allan was sentenced in Dec. 2022 with a 21-month prison sentence, 36 months of probation, a $100 fine and a payment of $2,000 to the Architect of the Capitol after he scaled Capitol walls on a rope and stole the American flag as well as documents from the Senate chamber.
Allan did not engage in any physical violence on Jan. 6, but was one of few who entered the Senate chamber. He later admitted to destroying evidence by deleting his Facebook page, which included posts from the insurrection, and burning the documents he'd stolen.
The insurrection resulted in the death of five people , including Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick. Legal consequences for both rioters and Trump continue to play out in federal courts.
More than 1,000 people have been charged with crimes stemming their role in the insurrection.
Charges range from assault to using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer. Trump was most recently indicted late last month with new charges for his efforts to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election, which resulted in his supporters rioting at the Capitol.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal prosecutors should not have charged Jan. 6 defendants for obstructing an official proceeding unless they destroyed or attempted to impair necessary records or documents.
