Nearly 40% of Jan. 6 defendants sentenced so far got prison
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All of the January 6 defendants sentenced so far for assault have received prison time, an Axios review of data found. Several more high-profile assault cases are progressing.
Why it matters: The insurrection shook the District, and in the days and weeks following the riots, five police officers died, while over 150 law enforcement officers defending the Capitol on January 6 were injured.
Zoom out: There have so far been 545 punishments doled out for rioters, with most defendants receiving more than one sentence, according to data compiled by the Associated Press.
- Our review found that 39% of the 163 individuals sentenced to date have been slapped with prison time. That includes two Virginia residents and one Maryland resident.
Zoom in: A NW D.C. resident, Mark Ponder, is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty last week to assault.
- The 56-year-old admitted to repeatedly assaulting police, WUSA9 reported. He faces several years in prison.
- In total, six other people from the District have cases pending or face trial. There are 38 defendants from Virginia and 18 from Maryland.
The big picture: Nearly 800 people have been arrested for their involvement in the riots, with 250 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
- Last week, a 71-year-old Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty to assaulting a D.C. officer, repeatedly striking them with a flagpole until it broke, prosecutors said. He faces a maximum of eight years in prison.
What we’re watching: The assault trial of a former New York police officer who served on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s security detail began last Tuesday in D.C.
- Prosecutors say 54-year-old Thomas Webster beat a D.C. police officer with a flagpole and pushed through a barricade, tackling him to the ground.
- Webster is claiming self-defense, the NY Times reports. He says the D.C. officer provoked him.