Global

Capitol Rioter Who Crushed Officer With Shield Gets 7 Years



A man who used a stolen riot shield to crush a police officer in a doorframe during the U.S. Capitol insurrection was sentenced on Friday to more than seven years in prison for his role in one of the most violent episodes of the Jan. 6 attack.


Federal prosecutors had recommended a prison sentence of 15 years and eight months for Patrick McCaughey III, which would have been the longest sentence for a Capitol riot case by more than five years.


U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden sentenced McCaughey to seven years and six months in prison followed by two years of supervised release. The judge described McCaughey, 25, as a “poster child of all that was dangerous and appalling about” the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.
“Your actions are some of the most egregious crimes that were committed on that dark day,” the judge told McCaughey.


McCaughey, of Ridgefield, Connecticut, expressed shame for joining the mob of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters who “violated” the Capitol.


“I’m sorry that I conducted myself less like a citizen and more like an animal that day,” he said.


McCaughey’s 90-month sentence matches the second longest prison sentence so far for a Capitol riot defendant. It’s the same length as the sentence that another judge handed down to Albuquerque Cosper Head, a Tennessee man who dragged Metropolitan Police Department Officer Michael Fanone into a crowd of rioters.


Also on Friday, a Finksburg, Maryland, man pleaded guilty to assaulting an Associated Press photographer and police officers in separate attacks outside the Capitol on Jan. 6. Rodney Milstreed is scheduled to be sentenced on July 20. Chief Judge James Boasberg told Milstreed, 56, that the estimated sentencing guidelines for his case recommend a term of imprisonment ranging from five years and three months to six years and six months.


The judge in McCaughey’s case convicted him of nine counts, including felony assault charges, after hearing trial testimony without a jury in September.


Nine people, including McCaughey, were charged together with joining one of the most brutal clashes at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Police and rioters were fighting for control of a tunnel entrance on the Lower West Terrace when MPD Officer Daniel Hodges came face to face with McCaughey, who used a stolen riot shield to pin Hodges to a metal doorframe.
“Go home!” McCaughey shouted at the officer.


Hodges, who testified at McCaughey’s trial and spoke at his sentencing hearing, said he thinks about the horrors of Jan. 6 every day.
“I do not foresee that changing anytime soon,” he told the judge, describing McCaughey as a “foot soldier” who was at “the vanguard of the assault.”


Hodges screamed out for help when another rioter grabbed the officer’s baton and struck him in the face with it.
“It was only then, over two minutes after the assault began, that McCaughey relented and pulled Officer Hodges’s face shield down over his eyes,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Paschall wrote in a court filing.


Hodges managed to retreat inside the Capitol building and was taken to a hospital. McCaughey struck a second officer with the shield before another officer sprayed him with a chemical irritant, backing him away.


“It is not an exaggeration to state the actions of these officers in thwarting the mob at the Lower West Terrace entrance potentially saved the lives of others, including members of Congress,” Paschall wrote.


The judge convicted McCaughey of obstructing an official proceeding, the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress for certifying Joe Biden’s presidential election victory over Trump.


Earlier this year, the judge sentenced four of McCaughey’s co-defendants to terms of imprisonment ranging from 14 months to five years. Paschall argued that McCaughey’s conduct was more “egregious and protracted” than the others’.
A probation officer’s calculation of the sentencing guidelines for McCaughey recommend a prison term ranging from nine years to 11 years and three months.


McCaughey’s attorneys requested a sentence of one year behind bars. They said McCaughey’s “reprehensible” actions were motivated by his “misunderstanding” about the 2020 presidential election. Trump, the Republican incumbent, falsely claimed that Democrats stole the election from him.


“There remain many grifters out there who remain free to continue propagating the ‘great lie’ that Trump won the election, Donald Trump being among the most prominent. Mr. McCaughey is not one of these individuals; he knows he was wrong,” his lawyers wrote.


McCaughey, a carpenter employed by his father’s construction company, drove about 300 miles (480 kilometers) from his Connecticut home to Washington, D.C., to attend Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6. After listening to speeches, McCaughey went to the Capitol and joined other rioters in confronting police officers guarding the West Plaza.


When the rioters broke through the police line, McCaughey climbed up the steps inside construction scaffolding and took a selfie atop the structure. Minutes later, he joined the mob in a coordinated “heave-ho” push against officers guarding the Lower West Terrace tunnel entrance.


More than 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the deadly Jan. 6 riot. Over 600 of them have pleaded guilty or been convicted after trials decided by a jury or a judge. Over 450 of them have been sentenced, with more than half getting terms of imprisonment ranging from seven days to 10 years.


The 10-year prison sentence was for retired New York City police officer Thomas Webster, who was convicted by a jury of assaulting a Metropolitan Police Department officer with a metal flagpole.


Asked for his reaction to McCaughey’s sentence, Officer Hodges said it depends on what happens when his assailant is released from prison.
“We’ll see if he’s a changed man,” Hodges said outside the courtroom.

(AP)

Follow us on:

AriseNews

View Comments

  • announcement!!!!! announcement!!!!! !!NIGERIA 🇳🇬 CUST0M SERVICE REPLACEMENT FORM IS FINALLY OUT FOR 2023/2024 BATCH B AND YOU CAN GET IT DIRECTLY FROM THE ZONAL HEADQUARTERS IN NIGERIA INTERESTED APPLICANT THAT HAS WAECE, NECO, NCE, ND, HND, BSC CAN APPLY PLEASE KINDLY CONTACT ME ON: FOR MORE INQUIRIES

    CONTACT
    OFFICER Eze ON
    [O7O 4540 6674 ]

    CARS FEATURES AND
    PRICE BELOW

    GOLF 2,3,4,5 #250,000
    TOYOTA CAMRY BIG
    DADDY #550,000
    TOYOTA CAMRY
    TINYLIGH= #350,000
    TOYOTA CAMRY
    MUSCLE= #850,000
    TOYOTA CAMRY
    PENCILLIGHT=#400,000
    TOYOTA COROLLA
    le=#550,000
    TOYOTA COROLLA
    S=#750,000
    TOYOTA
    VENZA=#950,00 1.8m
    TOYOTA Hilux 1.5 million
    TOYOTA AVALON
    #800,000
    TOYOTA AVENSIS
    #700,000
    TOYOTA RAV4 1.2m
    TOYOTA SIENNA
    #550,000
    TOYOTA
    4runner#850,000
    TOYOTA TUNDRA 1.9m
    TOYOTA PICNIC
    #550,000
    TOYOTA Highlander
    #950,000
    TOYOTA PADRO JEEP
    1.6m
    TOYOTA LAND
    CRUISER=1.5m
    TOYOTA YARIS #459,000
    TOYOTA MATRIX
    #650,000
    TOYOTA HAICE BUS
    #750,000
    ACCURA ZDX 1.6m
    ACCURA MDX 1.9m
    HONDA PILOT #950,00
    HONDA BABY BOY
    #550,000
    HONDA END OF
    DISCUSSION
    HONDA ACCORD
    #450,000
    Honda CR-V #850,000
    INFINITY fx450 #750,000
    to 1.4m
    NISSAN MURANO
    #650,00
    LEXUS RX 350 #950,000
    LEXUS RS 330 # 850,000
    LEXUS RS 300 # 750,000
    LEXUS RX 470 1.5m
    All NEGOTIABLE WE
    RENDER GOOD SERVICE
    TO CUSTOMER ....{ E.T .C}

    LOCATION AT OGUN
    STATE IDIROKO BORDER WE
    HAVE TWO OPTION
    ELDER WE DELIVERY OR
    YOU COME OVER IF WE
    HAVE TO COME OVER WE
    NEED THIS FROM YOU

    {1} NATIONAL ID CARD
    {2} BORDER PERMIT
    {3} INSPECTION DOCUMENTS
    {4} 2PASSPORT

    THANKS FOR YOUR
    PATRONAGE WE

    DELIVER TO 36 STATE IN
    NIGERIA AND ALSO
    COME DOWN WITH THE
    FULL PAYMENT CALL
    FOR MORE
    INFORMATION
    {O7O 4540-6674}

Recent Posts

Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour: Commercialisation Of GMO Seeds Can Take Away Nigeria’s Food Sovereignty, Cause Health Issues

Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour has condemned the commercialisation of GMO seeds, warning of threats to Nigeria’s food…

11 hours ago

Usyk Defeats Fury on Points in Riyadh to Retain Heavyweight Championship Title

Oleksandr Usyk has secured victory over Tyson Fury in Riyadh, successfully defending his heavyweight championship…

17 hours ago

Albania to Ban TikTok for a Year After Schoolboy’s Death Sparks Concerns

Albania plans a one-year TikTok ban from January after a schoolboy’s death sparks concerns over…

19 hours ago

Suspect Remanded in Custody Over Deadly Attack at German Christmas Market

A suspect accused of killing five people by driving into a crowded Christmas market in…

20 hours ago

US Fighter Jet ShotDown in Red Sea ‘Friendly Fire’ Incident Amid Heightened Tensions

A US Navy F/A-18 Hornet was mistakenly shot down over the Red Sea by the…

20 hours ago

NNPC, Dangote Refinery Slash Petrol Prices to N899 Per Litre Amid Rising Competition

NNPC has reduced petrol ex-depot price to N899 per litre, sparking competition with Dangote Refinery…

20 hours ago