An American who used a stolen SWAT shield to corner a police officer in a doorway during an assault on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.
Federal prosecutors wanted Patrick McCaufie sentenced to more than 15 years in prison, which would have been the most severe sentence in the Capitol riots case.
However, District Judge Trevor McFadden sentenced McCaffey to seven and a half years in prison, followed by two years of supervision.
“Your actions were one of the most egregious crimes committed on this dark day,” McFadden told the defendant.
McCaufie, a Connecticut resident, said in court he was ashamed to join a crowd of President Donald Trump supporters who were “disrupting the order” on Capitol Hill.
“I regret that that day I did not behave like a citizen, but like an animal,” he said.
The judge found McCaffey guilty of nine counts, including aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer.
Nine people, including McCaffey, have been charged with participating in one of the most violent confrontations on Capitol Hill on January 6. Police and rioters were fighting over control of the tunnel entrance on the Lower West Terrace when Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges came face to face with McCaughey. He used a stolen plastic shield to pin Hodges against a metal door.
“Go home!” McCaffey yelled at the policeman.
Hodges called for help when another rioter grabbed a police officer’s baton and punched him in the face.
It wasn’t until more than two minutes into the attack, according to the prosecution, that McCaufie backed up and lowered Constable Hodges’ visor to his face.
Hodges managed to retreat inside the Capitol building and was taken to the hospital. McCaufie then hit another officer with a shield, after which a third officer fired a gas canister, forcing McCaufie to retreat.
The prosecution said the police actions potentially saved the lives of others, including members of Congress.
The judge sentenced Patrick McCaufie for obstructing due process – a joint meeting of the Houses of Congress devoted to certifying Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump in the presidential election.
McCaufie’s lawyers asked the court for a one-year prison sentence. According to them, their client’s “unseemly” actions were caused by his “misunderstanding” of the situation around the 2020 presidential election. Trump – then the current President of the United States – unreasonably claimed that the Democrats had “robbed” him of the victory.
Read the Ukraine War News Latest Today on The Eastern Herald.
