Secret Service outside the White House (Getty Images)

Joseph Clifford Reel, the 33-year-old Ohio man who rigged his Jeep Patriot to crash into a Secret Service guard post outside of the White House, pleaded guilty to a charge of assaulting, impeding, intimidating, and interfering with an officer or employee of the United States with a dangerous weapon and has been sentenced to 35 months in prison.

On June 9, just after 3 a.m., Reel “affixed a wooden block to the accelerator and reached into the vehicle to shift it into drive.” The Jeep headed toward a Secret Service guard post, but ended up hitting a light post, a steel bollard, and a steel bike rack, causing $5,345 in damage to U.S. Park Service property. The Jeep was going 40 MPH at the time of impact. The action, Reel testified, was supposed to be a distraction so that he could sneak up to the White House and spray paint the “Don’t Tread on Me” snake on the building, believing that it would inspire others to “stand up against government.”

Reel didn’t make it that far and was reportedly arrested inside the White House complex just minutes after the Jeep crashed.

“Joseph Reel is lucky to be alive after his terribly dangerous decision to launch his unmanned Jeep at a Secret Service guard post in the hopes of causing a distraction that would allow him to spray-paint a political message on the side of the White House,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ron Machen said in a release. “Reel now faces three years behind bars because of his foolish behavior. This prosecution should send a clear message to individuals considering political stunts that risk the safety of public servants seeking to protect our national treasures.”