A candidate seeking the Republican nomination for governor of New York wrote and signed a letter on official letterhead seeking leniency for a state resident who pleaded guilty to entering a restricted building on Capitol grounds during the January 6 attack.

In his letter to the judge, Lewis County, New York, sheriff Michael Carpinelli wrote that he was putting his "title and reputation" at stake in asking the court for leniency for his "good friend" William Tryon. Tryon, 71, pleaded guilty in October to the misdemeanor charge of entering a restricted building on Capitol grounds on January 6, 2021. Tryon submitted Carpnelli's letter, along with six dozen other character letters from friends and members of the community, as he sought a sentence that spared him from prison.