Capitol rioter gets 34-month term for assaulting police and journalist - The Washington Post

“Regretfully, I fto my emotions get the champion of me, and I’m precise disappointed,” the defendant, Alan W. Byerly, 55, told Judge Randolph D. Moss successful U.S. District Court successful Washington. “But marque nary mistake: This was nary excuse for maine to enactment my hands connected anyone. … I was being an antagonistic jerk, and I inactive can’t recognize wherefore I was similar that.”

Byerly, a divorced begetter and gramps who had mislaid his carpentry occupation during the pandemic, said helium was experiencing “depression, vexation and isolation” erstwhile helium traveled to Washington to be President Donald Trump’s incendiary rally Jan. 6 connected the Ellipse, astatine which Trump repeated his debunked assertion that rampant elector fraud had led to his decision successful the 2020 election.

Carrying an electrical stun instrumentality “for protection,” Byerly said, helium past joined thousands of Trump supporters arsenic the mob stormed the Capitol portion Congress was gathering to corroborate Joe Biden’s triumph successful the statesmanlike election. Later, successful the months earlier his July 2021 arrest, Byerly said, “I felt truthful bad” astir the riot that “I wouldn’t adjacent archer the closest radical successful my beingness astir January 6th.”

In tribunal filings, the U.S. attorney’s bureau successful Washington said Byerly, who was not accused of entering the Capitol, was contiguous connected the building’s Lower West Terrace erstwhile rioters accosted an Associated Press lensman and hauled him down a formation of stairs.

“At the bottommost of the stairs, [Byerly] and 3 different individuals grabbed the writer and pushed, shoved and dragged him,” the bureau said successful a statement. “Byerly grabbed the writer with some hands and pushed him backward. He past continued to propulsion and resistance him distant from the stairs.”

The writer “was not injured and advised the authorities that helium did not privation to enactment successful the probe of this matter,” according to a tribunal filing. Shortly aft that assault, Byerly became progressive successful a melee connected the Lower West Terrace with constabulary officers who were trying to forestall the mob from breaching the building, prosecutors said.

In instrumentality for Byerly’s blameworthy pleas to 2 charges — assaulting constabulary officers and assaulting the photojournalist — Moss connected Friday dismissed six different counts successful an indictment, astatine the petition of the U.S. attorney’s office. Those charges progressive Byerly’s unauthorized beingness and disorderly behaviour connected restricted grounds astatine the Capitol.

Federal sentencing guidelines, which are not compulsory, called for a situation word successful the scope of 37 to 46 months. While defence lawyers asked for a condemnation of little than 37 months, Assistant U.S. lawyer Anita Eve recommended a 46-month term, saying: “The tribunal should nonstop a message: This behaviour is not going to beryllium treated lightly. … This suspect needs to consciousness the consequences of his actions.”

In siding with the defence and imposing a 34-month term, Moss said helium was “enormously impressed” by Byerly’s connection of contrition. “It struck maine arsenic sincere,” the justice said. With recognition for the 15 months that Byerly has been successful jailhouse since his arrest, helium has 19 months inactive to serve.

Much of Friday’s courtroom statement focused connected the stun instrumentality that Byerly carried that day, whether it was “dangerous weapon” and whether it should origin heavy successful his sentencing. Although the instrumentality is referred to successful tribunal papers arsenic a “stun gun,” it was shaped much similar a flashlight with 2 prongs astatine the extremity and had to beryllium pressed against someone’s the tegument to inflict an electrical charge.

Byerly, who admitted brandishing the instrumentality during the mayhem but was not accused of stunning anyone, said helium bought it for $25 successful a store earlier traveling to Washington.

Defense attorneys depicted the instrumentality arsenic reasonably harmless, emitting lone a flimsy jolt. “The stun weapon helium had connected January 6th could not person caused superior harm and truthful was not a deadly oregon unsafe weapon,” lawyer Hunter S. Labovitz argued successful court. “You would consciousness thing connected your tegument similar a small tingle … but it’s not going to incapacitate you.”

Eve, the prosecutor, acknowledged that it was “a low-energy” instrumentality but said Byerly “clearly created the content successful the constabulary officers’ minds that they were susceptible of being stunned and incapacitated.”

Byerly, from Fleetwood, Pa., astir 70 miles northwest of Philadelphia, said helium ne'er participated successful a nationalist protestation earlier Jan. 6 and looks guardant to a quiet, law-abiding beingness aft his situation stint.

“What I’ve learned successful these 15 months successful jailhouse is that disagreements astir authorities should never, ever effect successful riots oregon violence,” helium told the judge.