LOGIN

Capitol Rioter Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison for Crushing Officer with a Shield

by Ryan Lee
0 comments

Patrick McCaughey III was recently sentenced to more than seven years in prison for his violent behavior during the U.S. Capitol Attack on January 6th. He used a stolen riot shield to slam a police officer against a doorframe. The prosecutors wanted him to stay in prison for 15 years and 8 months which would be the longest sentence compared to any other person convicted of participating in the attack.

A 25-year-old person identified as McCaughey, who belongs to the Proud Boys group, was charged for attacking the police in a riot on January 6th. A judge sentenced him to seven and a half years in prison, with two more year of supervised released after he finishes his term. The judge described McCaughey as an example of all that was bad about the January 6th riot.

The judge said something rude to McCaughey, from Ridgefield Connecticut, who was part of the crowd supporting then-President Donald Trump. He felt bad and said he acted “less like a citizen and more like an animal” when he was in the Capitol building.

McCaughey was given a 90-month prison sentence, which is the second longest sentence given out to anyone who got in trouble at the Capitol riot. This same sentence was also handed down to Albuquerque Cosper Head from Tennessee who grabbed an officer named Michael Fanone and pulled him into a crowd of other rioters.

On Friday, a man from Finksburg, Maryland named Rodney Milstreed pleaded guilty to assaulting an Associated Press photographer and police officers in different attacks that happened outside the Capitol on January 6. When it comes time for his sentencing on July 20th, Judge James Boasberg said that according to the rules of the case, his punishment could range from five years and three months to six years and six months.

A judge heard a trial in September without any jury and decided to convict McCaughey of nine counts, including charges of hurting people on purpose.

Nine people, including McCaughey, have been arrested for taking part in a really violent fight at the Capitol on January 6th. Officer Hodges from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) ran into McCaughey, who was using a stolen riot shield to push him against a metal doorframe. McCaughey shouted at the officer, “Go home!”

Hodges said that every day he remembers the scary events of January 6. He told the court that McCaughey was like an army soldier leading the attack and this made things worse. Hodges cried for help when someone hit him on his face with a baton.

It took two minutes before McCaughey stopped attacking Officer Hodges and allowed him to get away. During the assault, Hodges was able to back up into a building and had to be taken to a hospital. Before retreating further away, McCaughey hit another officer with the shield, but he was eventually sprayed with something that made him move away.

Two officers did something really brave and heroic on January 6th at the Lower West Terrace entrance. Their actions could have helped save a lot of people, including Congress members from being hurt or worse. Because of this, an official judge found Mr Prescott McCaughey guilty of trying to block Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election over Donald Trump during a special meeting where the results were being discussed.

This year, the judge gave four of McCaughey’s friends sentences from 14 months to five years. Paschall also said that what McCaughey did was worse than what the others did. The probation officer figured out that because of this, McCaughey should get a sentence of nine years to 11 years and three months in prison.

McCaughey’s lawyers asked for a punishment of one year in prison. They said McCaughey did something wrong because he believed what President Trump, the Republican leader, said about Democrats taking away his win in the election. But Trump was not telling the truth.

There are still a lot of people who say that Donald Trump won the election when he didn’t. But Mr. McCaughey is not one of them, even though he was wrong at first – his lawyers said so.

McCaughey, a carpenter who works at his dad’s construction business, drove for about 300 miles (480 kilometers) from Connecticut to Washington D.C. to go to the “Stop the Steal” rally led by President Trump on January 6th. After listening to speeches, he went to the Capitol and met up with other people who wanted to confront security guards that were positioned on the West Plaza.

McCaughey went up some steps made of metal and wood that were built around a building, took a picture of himself, then helped the crowd push against police officers blocking an entrance tunnel.

More than 1,000 people have been accused of doing something wrong in connection to the huge riot that happened on January 6th. Out of those charged, over 600 accepted guilt or got convicted after a court trial. Around 450 were given punishments, with half of them receiving jail time from as short as seven days up to 10 years.

A retired New York City police officer, Thomas Webster, was found guilty by a jury and ordered to serve 10 years in prison for attacking an Metropolitan Police Department officer with a metal flagpole. When asked about the sentence that was given out, Officer Hodges said it would depend on if Tom had changed upon release from jail. Outside of the courtroom, Hodges commented “We’ll see if he’s a changed man”.

Follow BigBigNews’ coverage of the attack on the United States Capitol at https://bigbignews.net/capitol-siege for more information.

You may also like

Leave a Comment

BNB – Big Big News is a news portal that offers the latest news from around the world. BNB – Big Big News focuses on providing readers with the most up-to-date information from the U.S. and abroad, covering a wide range of topics, including politics, sports, entertainment, business, health, and more.

Editors' Picks

Latest News