Man sentenced to 4 years in prison for assaulting police at Capitol riot

Zoom in: During the insurrection, Sills partook in violence in the tunnel area leading to the entrance of the Capitol, according to court documents.

• Wearing black goggles and a black gas mask, prosecutors said he joined a line of rioters that pushed police officers back.
• Sills threw several "pole-like objects" at officers as they retreated, while filming the events and posting them to social media, per the DOJ.
• Prosecutors said he also wrested away a police baton from an officer and pointed a flashing strobe light at the police line, disorienting officers.
• Sills struck at several officers with the baton, hitting at least two of them, per the department.

Background: Sills was arrested and charged in June 2021, and has been behind bars since then.

• He was indicted with eight other defendants, five of whom have been convicted and three of whom are awaiting trial, per the DOJ.

What's next: Sills was also ordered to pay $2,000 restitution and serve 36 months of supervised release.

The big picture: Some 1,000 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, per the DOJ.

• These include over 320 people who were charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.