A member of the crowds that stormed the Capitol complex on January 6, 2021, attacking police officers and threatening the lives of many of those present, has been sentenced to a lengthy stint in prison after offenses that specifically included an attack on D.C. police officer Daniel Hodges.
Hodges is among the officers who have been very outspoken about their experiences of violence that day. He was the one victimized in an infamous clip from amid the day’s events that shows an officer being crushed between a riot shield used by the violent crowd and a Capitol door. And this particular rioter went after Hodges in those very moments, grabbing at his gas mask, taking a baton the officer had on his person, and using that baton against him, all while also screaming evident obscenities.
The rioter, Texas man Steven Cappuccio, was sentenced to 85 months in prison, which is more than seven years. “Cappuccio saw this, then forcefully yanked the gas mask away from the pinned officer’s face in hard, quick movements, causing the officer’s head and neck to be yanked violently in various directions,” the Justice Department said in a press release, referencing Hodges. “Cappuccio then took the officer’s riot baton out of his hands and used the baton to strike the officer in the face.”
Hodges publicly shared a statement that he prepared on the occasion of the defendant’s sentencing. In the statement, Hodges describes what Cappuccio did as an attempt on his life — which is right in character with a lot of the other behavior documented from that day. Hodges’ statement, meant for the court, also questioned a defense from Cappuccio that his actions could be tied to claimed PTSD. “I also served in the United States Army and am currently a Police Officer,” Hodges observed. “I’ve worked with many who have PTSD. None have displayed the reckless disregard for life that Mr. Cappuccio did, even under stressful conditions.”
Hodges’ statement is embedded below:
I submitted the following statement to the court for the sentencing of Steven Cappuccio, the man who ripped off my gas mask and beat me with my own baton on 1/6/21. pic.twitter.com/W6IYIrNSDk
— Definitely Danny (@SemperWry) November 3, 2023
