Rioters Who Cried Like Babies Given 3.5+ Years Prison For Jan 6 Assault

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A pair of New York residents who participated in last year’s violence at the Capitol and assaulted officers were sentenced this week by federal Judge Beryl Howell to more than three and a half years in prison apiece. The rioters are 29-year-old Cody Mattice and 30-year-old James Mault, and their sentences are both 44 months.

The sentences were delivered after Mattice and Mault both pleaded guilty to assaulting police at the Capitol. When originally at the Capitol, the duo were among the members of the mob who took on a sort of leadership position. Photos and videos used by federal prosecutors in building their case indicated that at the Capitol’s West Plaza Mattice and Mault removed bike racks that police were using as barricades, a move that would’ve assisted fellow rioters behind them with getting through to the Capitol. The pair of rioters withdrew themselves from their position in the crowd but rejoined it soon afterwards: once attempting to regain access to the line between police and riot participants, Mattice and Mault actually made their way to the front over the shoulders and heads of other people in the crowd. Both of them were subsequently provided with pepper spray by sources in the mob and used that chemical irritant against police officers.

Mattice initially claimed he didn’t use pepper spray when questioned by FBI agents, although evidence indicates otherwise. According to a report in The Washington Post, both Mattice and Mault were tearful during their sentencing proceedings this week. Mattice and Mault “both wept as they stood before Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell and asked for leniency, apologizing for their actions and saying they hoped to return soon to their families and young children,” the Post explains. The House committee investigating the Capitol riot recently sought to spotlight the impact on Trump’s own followers of believing his lies; they hosted one of the Capitol rioters themselves as a witness for a public hearing. Howell ultimately opted to go with the sentences for Mattice and Mault that prosecutors sought. They’ve both been jailed since their initial arrests in connection to the riot last October, so assuming credit for time served, neither have a full 44 months of detention left.

Despite the tears, it’s worth noting that at least one of those sentenced by Howell this week seemed to struggle in acknowledging their personal responsibility for what they did. “My friends and I went to the Capitol on January 6 with the best intentions… What happened was our protest got terribly out of hand, I fell into the mob mentality, and I didn’t think about what I was doing,” Mault remarked to the judge. Howell indicated the sentences were needed as deterrents to “future malcontents disappointed with the outcome of an election, and planning for and obstructing the peaceful transition of power after an election, especially by directly participating in violence as these two defendants did.” In related news, federal prosecutors revealed their sentencing recommendation this week for Guy Reffitt, who was the first riot participant to be convicted at a jury trial: 15 years. He’ll be sentenced August 1. Reffitt’s original charges related to actions including his post-riot attempts to intimidate family members into keeping quiet about his involvement.

Image: Brett Davis/ Creative Commons