Man Who Dragged Officer Into Jan. 6 Mob Is Sentenced to 90 Months - The New York Times

Politics|Man Who Dragged Officer Into Jan. 6 Mob Is Sentenced to 90 Months

A Tennessee antheral was sentenced connected Thursday to 7 and a fractional years successful situation for dragging a constabulary serviceman protecting the Capitol connected Jan. 6, 2021, into an aggravated pro-Trump assemblage that brutally assaulted the officer.

The man, Albuquerque Cosper Head, pleaded blameworthy successful March to assaulting the officer, Michael Fanone, who has emerged arsenic an outspoken advocator for the officers who were subjected to the mob unit connected Jan. 6. The condemnation was 1 of the astir terrible penalties handed down truthful acold successful the Justice Department’s probe of the Capitol attack.

As portion of his plea, Mr. Head, a 43-year-old operation worker, admitted that during the unit extracurricular the Capitol, helium grabbed Mr. Fanone astir the cervix and told the assemblage astir him, “I got one!” Mr. Head past forcibly hauled Mr. Fanone down the Capitol steps and into the mob, wherever helium was beaten, kicked and attacked with a stun gun.

Some successful the assemblage tried to portion Mr. Fanone of his work limb arsenic 1 rioter threatened to termination him with his ain gun.

Appearing arsenic a witnesser astatine a sentencing proceeding successful Federal District Court successful Washington, Mr. Fanone, who has since near the constabulary force, told Judge Amy Berman Jackson that helium wanted Mr. Head to look the maximum punishment for the assault. He added that helium wanted Judge Jackson to amusement Mr. Head the aforesaid magnitude of mercy that Mr. Head had shown him connected Jan. 6, saying that was “none.”

The 90-month condemnation Judge Jackson handed down was somewhat little than the 96 months that prosecutors had requested. In tribunal papers, prosecutors called Mr. Head’s onslaught connected Mr. Fanone “some of the astir barbaric unit connected Jan. 6.”

Apparently agreeing, Judge Jackson excoriated Mr. Head from the bench, calling the battle “horrific” and telling the suspect that his lawsuit was 1 of the astir superior Jan. 6 transgression matters that she had handled.

Judge Jackson told Mr. Head that helium had treated Mr. Fanone arsenic his “prey” and arsenic a “trophy” by bragging aloud arsenic helium grabbed the serviceman astir his cervix and fundamentally displayed him to crowd.

“He was protecting the precise essence of democracy, the peaceful transportation of powerfulness aft a antiauthoritarian election,” Judge Jackson said of Mr. Fanone. “He was protecting America.”

As she has done earlier astatine sentencing hearings, Judge Jackson warned that lies astir the 2020 predetermination proceed to beryllium dispersed crossed the state and that adjacent present immoderate supporters of erstwhile President Donald J. Trump person turned their choler toward the officers who were protecting the Capitol connected Jan. 6, not the rioters who stormed it.

“The acheronian shadiness of tyranny unluckily has not gone away,” she said. “Some radical are directing their vitriol astatine Officer Fanone and not astatine the radical who summoned the mob successful the archetypal place.”

Last month, 1 of Mr. Head’s co-defendants, Kyle Young, was sentenced to 86 months successful situation for taking portion successful the battle connected Mr. Fanone. Mr. Young had admitted to utilizing a strobe airy to disorient the constabulary and past to grabbing Mr. Fanone’s wrist, restraining him arsenic helium was acceptable upon by the mob.