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full screen Twenty years in prison is given to a man who participated in the storming of the US Congress by Trump supporters on January 6, 2021 and acted extra violently, according to the court. Archive image. Photo: John Minchillo/AP/TT
A California man is being sentenced to 20 years in prison for his violent rampage in the January 6, 2021 storming of the United States Congress by Trump supporters, in which several police officers and a Trump supporter died.
The man is convicted of having jumped on policemen’s heads and attacked policemen with everything from long sticks to a crutch and pepper spray.
– Your actions on January 6 were characterized by particular cruelty, it was not a question of whether you were drawn into the situation, said District Judge Royce Lamberth when the man received his sentence.
The man is known for previous cases of violence in political contexts.
Over 900 people have so far been sentenced for participating in the storming and another 500 are awaiting trial. The punishment has been anything from a few days in prison to 22 years. The latter punishment was given to the leader of the group Proud Boys, who had a leading role in the storming.
The now convicted has pleaded guilty to having attacked two police officers with the ax. He has expressed remorse and apologized to the officers he beat. Prosecutors had asked for 21 years and 10 months in prison, while the defense had said they would accept six and a half years.
The defense describes the sentence as ridiculously severe and one that does not take into account how much the man has developed since the storming.