It’s now more than 11 months after the riot at the Capitol, where Trump supporters tried to stop the formal certification by Congress of Joe Biden’s presidential election victory, and new criminal cases against individuals who were involved in the violence are still emerging. In connection to the January riot, Michigan resident Tim Boughner has now been charged with offenses including engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, civil disorder, and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers with a dangerous weapon — and that last charge alone appears to carry a sentence of up to 20 years in jail, if convicted.
Assaulting a police officer on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol isn’t something that the U.S. justice system is set up to take lightly. Boughner used a chemical spray against officers at the Capitol, and he bragged online after the violence about having “fucked those cops up,” as he put it. In other remarks on social media, Boughner expressed avid support for Trump, saying (among other things): “I can’t believe I’m saying this but we are going to be at war… USA will be dealing with all the evils in this world.” Boughner was being held without bond as of this Wednesday, adding to the list of rioters who’ve been jailed ahead of their trials (or guilty pleas) in apparent connection to the severity of their actions in D.C.
Notably, there appears to be an element of premeditation in Boughner’s case. On January 5, he wrote on social media that he was “on [his] way to Washington DC. To make sure Biden’s doesn’t become president.” According to the Justice Department, over 220 people from among the more than 700 rioters and counting who’ve been charged have been accused of assaulting law enforcement during the Capitol attack. When Donald Trump and other prominent Republicans seek to gloss over or otherwise downplay the Capitol attack, these numerous assaults on police officers are among what they’re pretending are somehow excusable.
