Judge slaps Capitol rioting duo with a combined prison sentence of over 6 years

Two New York men who traveled to D.C. on Jan. 6 to attend former President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally planned to take part in violence that day, prosecutors say.

On Jan. 5, prosecutors say Cody Mattice, 29, and James Mault, 30, exchanged text messages where they said they planned to bring batons, pepper spray, helmets, eye protection and “asskicking boots” to the rally. Sure enough, they walked along with the mob of Trump supporters to the U.S. Capitol building fought with police as the riot broke out, Law&Crime reports.

During the riot, Mattice pulled down a metal barricade which allowed fellow rioters to overwhelm police. Mattice was later handed a canister from a fellow rioter, and he discharged it directly at police. Mault was also handed a can of chemical spray from someone in the crowd and shot the contents  directly at a police officer identified in court filings only as Officer M.A. Mault then passed along a canister to another rioter who used it against police.

As Law&Crime points out, both men pleaded guilty in March to a single count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, a felony punishable by up to eight years in prison, three years supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The plea agreement estimated a sentence range of 37 to 46 months.

Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell sentenced both men to 44 months in prison, followed by a 36-month period of supervised release. Both men will also have to pay $2,000 in restitution.

Read the full report over at Law&Crime

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.