When a judge sentenced two New Yorkers to prison for their involvement in the Capitol incident last year, they broke down in tears.
James Mault, 30, and Cody Mattice, 29, each received 44 months in prison on Friday, according to Justice Department documents. According to a Justice Department press statement, the two admitted guilt to attacking police officers during the Capitol brawl in April.
The press report claims that after breaking into the Capitol, Mattice “reached out to another rioter and grabbed a small object appearing to be a canister.” “He then sprayed chemical spray at police officers.”
“Mault also got a second canister from the crowd and provided it to another rioter,” the release says.
Mattice recorded both Mault and himself on camera during the uprising. The release claims that Mattice can be heard stating, “It’s about to be nuts,” in one of the films as he approaches the Capitol.
On Friday, a judge handed out sentences to Mattice and Mault. According to the Washington Post, the two sobbed and begged Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell for leniency. They kept crying as Howell upheld their prison sentence.
“They were not patriots on January 6, and no one who broke the police lines and stopped the democratic process was a patriot that day,” Howell said.
Five individuals, including one police officer, died in the Capitol riot. There were also Proud Boys members there, which the Southern Poverty Law Center considers to be a hate group.
Despite Joe Biden’s election triumph, organisers were encouraged by former President Donald Trump’s calls for them to join him in protesting the 2020 election results. Trump supporters staged a coup attempt and stormed the Capitol as members of Congress gathered inside to ratify the results and confirm Biden’s victory.
Following the riot, rebellious individuals hastened to remove social media posts and images showing their involvement in the Capitol riot. Some attempted to erase hard drives that would have pictures and other evidence of their involvement, smashed their telephones, cleaned up their social media profiles, and broke their phones.
Others, however, brag about their involvement, making it simpler for the FBI to find them and file charges against them later. According to Insider’s database, more than 876 people have been accused of involvement in the uprising thus far.