A Texas militia member was sentenced Friday to just about 5 years in jail for attacking law enforcement officials on the U.S. Capitol, severely injuring one in all them throughout a mob’s assault on Jan. 6, 2021.
U.S. District Choose Randolph Moss sentenced Donald Hazard to 4 years and 9 months in jail adopted by three months of supervised launch for his function in the riot at the Capitol, in response to a spokesperson for the U.S. Legal professional’s workplace for the District of Columbia.
The sentence matched what federal prosecutors had really helpful for Hazard, who pleaded responsible to an assault cost in February.
Hazard, 44, of Hurst, Texas, was a member of a militia known as the Patriot Boys of North Texas. Lucas Denney, the group’s self-proclaimed president, appointed Hazard as its sergeant-at-arms. Denney additionally inspired Hazard to top off on weapons and protecting gear and recruit others to hitch them in Washington, D.C., prosecutors mentioned.
Hazard was “looking forward to violence” on Jan. 6, sporting a tactical vest and a helmet adorned with the picture of the Accomplice battle flag, Justice Department prosecutor Benet Kearney wrote in a court filing.
After marching to the Capitol, Hazard clashed with officers who had been making an attempt to carry off the mob close to scaffolding on the northwest aspect of the constructing. Hazard grabbed a Capitol police officer and pulled him down a set of concrete steps, knocking him unconscious. That officer was handled for a concussion and foot accidents that required a number of surgical procedures, in response to prosecutors.
Hazard additionally fell on one other Capitol police officer whose head hit the concrete. Hazard and Denney, each wielding what gave the impression to be canisters of pepper spray, confronted different officers on the west aspect of the Capitol.
Hazard briefly entered the Capitol earlier than police pushed him and different rioters out of the constructing.
“When he reached the outside steps, Hazard raised his arms in a gesture of victory,” Kearney wrote.
Within the days after Jan. 6, Hazard bragged on Fb about storming the Capitol and combating with police.
“The one remorse Hazard expressed was that he now not had the pictures and movies he took that day,” Kearney wrote.
Protection lawyer Ubong Akpan mentioned Hazard had no plan to assault officers.
“His actions had been extra of a response to what he noticed that day, versus a plan to assault regulation enforcement, a gaggle he thought he was equally located with,” Akpan wrote in a court filing.
Video exhibits that Hazard did not forcibly assault the officers within the scaffolding, his lawyer argued.
“His conduct was extra in line with impeding officers and his impeding led to bodily accidents of the officers,” Akpan wrote.
Hazard was charged with Denney, who pleaded responsible to an assault cost and was sentenced final September to 4 years and 4 months in jail.
Greater than 100 law enforcement officials had been injured on the Capitol on Jan. 6, as rioters disrupted Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory over Republican incumbent Donald Trump.
Over 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the riot. Roughly 500 of them have been sentenced, with greater than half receiving phrases of imprisonment starting from seven days to over 14 years.
