An Alabama man who joined the attack on the Capitol in early 2021 has been sentenced to a little over three years in prison (37 months) after actions that authorities say included even hurling a 4×4 piece of lumber at police, though the officer who would have been hit happened to evade the prospective blow just in time.
That was not the full extent of his hours of antagonism towards police, however. The defendant, 31-year-old Dillion Colby Herrington, repeatedly displayed his middle finger towards officers, also yelling taunts. And after throwing the piece of lumber, which was outside the Capitol building itself, he picked up a metal bike rack of the sort originally in use that day as an attempted crowd control implement and seemingly appeared intent on also using it against police. Herrington was forced back by a chemical agent utilized against him by officers before he could follow through on his seeming ambitions, however.
Other notable points of his time outside the Capitol that day include observing violence around the building’s Lower West Terrace tunnel from above and being found by police to be harboring potential weapons, including a knife and evident stun gun. Both were apparently confiscated, though local police departments were suffering from a well-documented resource strain that day, and Herrington himself was let go. He was rearrested just months later, in June of 2021.
His sentence follows a guilty plea he entered admitting to a charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers. At certain points that day, authorities said he’d also been carrying a large flag displaying the popular-among-conservatives messaging “Don’t Tread On Me,” as the saying goes. Details on Herrington’s actions come from a federal press release.
Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly suggested he’ll issue presidential pardons for January 6 rioters if he regains office in the 2024 presidential election — a group that includes many like Herrington who were accused of physical violence targeting police and either admitted to the acts or were found guilty.
