A convicted participant in the crowds that overran the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, in connection with lies tracing to Donald Trump of a stolen election was given six years in prison at his recent sentencing.
Federal authorities reported that defendant David Joseph Gietzen of North Carolina stood by his actions — which included assaulting police — at trial and his recent sentencing. “At both the trial and sentencing, Gietzen stated he did not regret his actions on January 6, 2021,” said a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office for Washington, D.C.
At trial, a jury convicted Gietzen of a full seven felonies, including multiple charges of assault on police. Per the press release, one of those charges was denoted as assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a deadly or dangerous weapon, which comes with up to 20 years in prison if found guilty, although most convicted Capitol riot defendants have ended up with sentences (assuming any jail-time at all) significantly below that level.
At the Capitol, federal authorities’ description of Gietzen’s actions places him eventually amid the violence in and around the building’s Lower West Terrace tunnel, a site of a long series of intense physical confrontations that day. Before that point, Gietzen reportedly used a metal pole against one of the police officers who he confronted, making rather close contact with the target by way of gaps in their protective gear. “Gietzen was able to strike the officer in the gaps in their protective gear near the armpit area,” said the authorities.
That interaction reportedly happened about an hour before the defendant was later enmeshed in the tunnel violence, so it sounds like he was out there in the crowds for awhile.
As this year’s elections approach, President Joe Biden has repeatedly emphasized — warning his listeners — that expected general election challenger Donald Trump proposes pardons and other help for Capitol riot defendants.
