Current:Home > MarketsMan who injured police officer during Capitol riot is sentenced to 5 years in prison-LoTradeCoin
Man who injured police officer during Capitol riot is sentenced to 5 years in prison
View Date:2024-12-23 14:31:22
WASHINGTON (AP) — A military veteran who was convicted of injuring a police officer’s hand during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison.
John George Todd III declined to address the court before U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell sentenced him. The judge said Todd, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, hasn’t shown any remorse for his role in damaging the country’s “fragile” democratic institutions.
“This is not a patriot. This is not conduct becoming of a Marine,” the judge told Todd, 34.
Prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of 12 years and seven months for Todd, who traveled from his Missouri home to attend then-President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6.
“As the country approaches anther contentious election year, one that will see a rematch of the 2020 Presidential election that was at issue for the rioters on January 6, every January 6 sentencing sends a message about the importance of democratic values and the rule of law,” prosecutors wrote.
After entering the Capitol, Todd repeatedly pushed against officers inside the Rotunda, ignored commands to leave and screamed profanities at police.
Todd was carrying a fiberglass pole attached to a flag. When a Metropolitan Police Department officer tried to grab it from him, Todd and the officer wrestled for control of the pole until it splintered and cut the officer’s hand.
The officer, Noah Rathbun, needed seven stitches and missed nine days of work. Todd argued that the officer’s injuries were self-inflicted.
A different rioter, retired New York Police Department officer Thomas Webster, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for attacking Rathbun outside the Capitol earlier that day. Webster swung a flagpole at Rathbun and then tackled him and grabbed his gas mask.
Todd has been jailed since a jury in February convicted him of six counts, including obstruction of the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress for certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory over Trump.
“This was a dangerous first, where the peaceful transition to a new presidential administration was disrupted,” the judge said.
Todd initially was charged with only misdemeanors, but a grand jury indicted him on felony charges after prosecutors discovered video of him assaulting Rathbun.
After his arrest, Todd repeatedly violated the terms of his pretrial release. He moved from Blue Springs, Missouri, to South Carolina to be in his sister’s care.
Todd’s attorneys said he is a combat veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder who needs mental health treatment, not incarceration.
“Incarceration would only exacerbate Mr. Todd’s health and mental health problems,” a defense attorney wrote last year.
Todd was a Marine from 2009 to 2013 and served in Afghanistan, his family said. Todd received an “other than honorable” discharge from the military related to his abuse of alcohol, according to prosecutors.
More than 100 police officers were injured during the riot. Over 1,400 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Nearly 900 of them have been sentenced, with roughly two-thirds of them receiving a term of imprisonment ranging from a few days to 22 years.
veryGood! (39)
Related
- Black and Latino families displaced from Palm Springs neighborhood reach $27M tentative settlement
- New US rules try to make it harder for criminals to launder money by paying cash for homes
- Police in Washington city banned from personalizing equipment in settlement over shooting Black man
- GM delays Indiana electric vehicle battery factory but finalizes joint venture deal with Samsung
- Are Dancing with the Stars’ Jenn Tran and Sasha Farber Living Together? She Says…
- 2 Indiana men charged in heat deaths of 9 dogs in an uncooled truck
- Searchers find a missing plane and human remains in Michigan’s Lake Huron after 17 years
- 'So much shock': LA doctor to the stars fatally shot outside his office, killer at large
- Tennessee fugitive accused of killing a man and lying about a bear chase is caught in South Carolina
- Channing Tatum Accuses Ex Jenna Dewan of Delay Tactic in Divorce Proceedings
Ranking
- Japan to resume V-22 flights after inquiry finds pilot error caused accident
- Armie Hammer sells his truck to save money after cannibalism scandal
- Man wins $439,000 lottery prize just after buying North Carolina home
- New US rules try to make it harder for criminals to launder money by paying cash for homes
- Up to 20 human skulls found in man's discarded bags, home in New Mexico
- Who aced the NHL offseason? Grading all 32 teams on their moves
- Soccer Player Juan Izquierdo Dead at 27 After Collapsing on the Field
- Woman shot at White Sox game sues team and stadium authority
Recommendation
-
Opinion: NFL began season with no Black offensive coordinators, first time since the 1980s
-
'Who steals trees?': Video shows man casually stealing trees from front yards in Houston
-
American Idol's Scotty McCreery Stops Show After Seeing Man Hit Woman in the Crowd
-
Colorado plans to relocate wolf pack as reintroduction effort stumbles amid livestock attacks
-
Burger King is giving away a million Whoppers for $1: Here's how to get one
-
Bud Light rolls out limited-edition college football team cans: See which 26 teams made the cut
-
Bachelor Nation’s Justin Glaze and Susie Evans Break Up After 7 Months Confirming Romance
-
Surging Methane Emissions Could Be a Sign of a Major Climate Shift